Tom Fornelli crowned Pardon My Take's college football expert

Pardon My Take dropped its college football mega preview on 9/2, and buried in the show notes between a Mt. Rushmore of household weapons and a Hot Seat/Cool Throne segment was the actual headline: Tom Fornelli walked out of the studio as PMT's newly minted college football expert.

Pardon My Take

@PardonMyTake

PMT 9-2 with @TomFornelli and @BFW is Now Live! - CFB Preview - Mt Rushmore of household items that could be used as weapons - Hot Seat/Cool Throne - Guys on Chicks + more Watch or Listen Here t.co/IY1yXreSyG

Fornelli isn't some random guest chasing a bit. He's a longtime CBS Sports college football writer and a Pardon My Take regular who's been coming on for years to talk ball, most recently sparring with Brandon Walker (BFW) in this same preview slot. The expert title itself has history on the show — PMT has previously flagged Walker as the incumbent holder of the belt — so Fornelli taking it isn't just a random crowning, it's a changing of the guard the show has been building toward.

Big Cat

@BarstoolBigCat

PMT 9-2 -CFB Mega Preview with Tom Fornelli and Brandon Walker -Hot Seat/Cool Throne -Trust tree dark thoughts before football starts -Mt Rushmore of household items used as weapons + Guys on Chicks Listen/Watch —> t.co/AN4p4ZDe2g

That's the joke baked into the whole rollout: the clips being used to celebrate the '#1 College Football Expert' show confusion and panic, not a guy nailing predictions. It's PMT's usual bit — hand someone a serious-sounding title, then immediately undercut it with footage of them looking lost. Doesn't matter. The crown stuck.

Big Cat made it official and public with a separate congrats post, complete with a mock studio bit labeling Fornelli a 'FOOTBALL WRITER' who won 'FOR WINNING' — the kind of deadpan, low-effort award ceremony PMT has been running bits like this for years.

Big Cat

@BarstoolBigCat

Congratulations to our good friend @TomFornelli. A well deserved champion

None of this changes what Fornelli actually does for a living — he'll keep grinding out CBS Sports college football coverage same as always. But on Pardon My Take, with the season about to kick off, he's now the guy the Big Cat and PFT Commenter crew will lean on all fall for picks, previews and the recap-show pull-ups when he's wrong. Walker, for his part, is presumably plotting a rematch.