Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark returned to Iowa City on Saturday as ESPN’s “College GameDay” guest picker ahead of Iowa’s home matchup against Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium.
The Iowa legend left no doubt about her allegiance when the panel reached the Hawkeyes’ game. Clark picked Iowa to pull off the upset and predicted the home crowd would make life difficult for Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin.
“You guys know who I’m picking,” Clark said. “We’re gonna have Julian Sayin rattled today. The stadium is going to be going crazy. Everybody better be loud. I got the Hawkeyes, come on.”
On top of that matchup, Clark also picked the winner of the Iowa State vs. West Virginia game, drawing loud boos from the Iowa crowd due to her choice.
“I’m taking Iowa State,” Clark said. “I said I wanted to get a 100 percent accuracy—it’s fine, you can boo me, I’ll make you happy at the end.”
Iowa State and West Virginia hadn’t faced each other since 2024 and entered the game both looking for their first Big 12 win this season.
The Mountaineers carried a 3-1 record into the game while the Cyclones split their first four game this year, sitting at 2-2.
Back to the biggest game of the weekend, all three of Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit, and Pat McAfee went the other direction and picked Ohio State.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Clark’s confidence, however, comes with Iowa carrying momentum into the Week 5 matchup. The Hawkeyes remain undefeated and improved to 4-0 with a 20-19 road win over Michigan last Saturday, scoring the winning touchdown on the final play.
Moreover, the setting also carries history for Iowa, as Ohio State’s previous trip to Kinnick Stadium ended in a 55-24 Hawkeyes victory in 2017.
Iowa and Ohio State kick off Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET with CBS broadcasting the game.
