ESPN sideline reporter Kris Budden pushed again at Dave Portnoy after the Barstool Sports activities founder accused her of displaying “glee” when a graphic about BYU’s Faculty Soccer Playoff possibilities appeared on display screen forward of Saturday’s Massive 12 Championship.
Portnoy posted a screenshot on X from ESPN’s Faculty GameDay displaying Budden with a graphic displaying BYU’s CFP odds: 99.9% with a win over Texas Tech, 0.8% with a loss.
“How pleased is ESPN to overtly report this crime?” Portnoy wrote. “Take a look at the glee on her face!”
How pleased is ESPN to overtly report this crime? Take a look at the glee on her face! pic.twitter.com/hUJDoeIxDz
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 6, 2025
What Budden was truly saying whereas that graphic was on display screen had nothing to do with playoff percentages. She was within the BYU endzone speaking about apply changes.
“They’ve struggled with gradual begins all 12 months, however primarily additionally on early kickoffs, in order that they have rearranged their practices all this week,” Budden reported. “They’ve known as it ‘stretch and go,’ the thought is you get off to a scorching begin and apply, hopefully they’ll simulate on Saturday.”
She went on to notice the coaches have been treating it like a playoff recreation, their model of 1 anyway, as a result of “on this constructing on Saturday for BYU, it’s win or go dwelling.”
— The Comeback NCAA (@TheComebackNCAA) December 7, 2025
She was speaking about apply changes for early kickoffs. Not reporting BYU’s playoff odds, and positively not gleefully. And Budden made certain to level that herself, writing again to Portnoy that anybody might “truly hearken to the tv the place I used to be speaking about their week at apply, and had nothing to do with their possibilities on the playoffs.”
You possibly can truly hearken to the tv the place I used to be speaking about their week at apply, and had nothing to do with their possibilities on the playoffs. https://t.co/Y2F7k0j1X3
— Kris Budden (@KrisBudden) December 7, 2025
It’s fairly clear that Portnoy was most likely watching on mute, noticed the graphic, noticed Budden’s face, and fired off a tweet accusing her of celebrating what he’s repeatedly known as a “crime” towards BYU. He’s been all-in on the Cougars since his October go to to Provo for Massive Midday Kickoff, the place he turned “Provo Dave” and considered one of their most vocal supporters. So when their playoff hopes have been hanging by a thread Saturday, he was able to see conspiracies in all places.
This isn’t the primary time BYU or anybody related to the Cougars has had points with ESPN’s framing this week. The college known as out a Get Up chyron asking if they might “steal” a CFP berth from Notre Dame or Miami, regardless of having higher metrics than each groups. BYU responded by posting its personal graphics displaying superior numbers.
These superior numbers have been nowhere to be discovered Saturday at AT&T Stadium, as BYU misplaced to Texas Tech 34-7, which most likely ended its playoff hopes anyway. So not solely was Pornoy off base, however Budden was simply doing her job. Sadly, that is what occurs when ESPN broadcasts the identical playoff it’s continually debating. Everybody’s searching for bias in all places, even in a reporter’s face whereas she talks about apply schedules.
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