Pat McAfee Show member impersonates Lou Holtz in side-by-side shot during national championship

Pat McAfee Show co-host Ty Schmit was on-hand for the College Football Playoff national championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame and was decked out in his ‘Fake Lou Holtz’ gear on the sideline.

Helping anchor ESPN2’s broadcast of ‘Field Pass with the Pat McAfee Show’ for the championship matchup, Schmit appears to have committed his Holtz gimmick for the entirety of Monday’s game.

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Naturally, the ESPN2 broadcast quickly found the real Holtz sitting in the stands, so of course they had to make a side-by-side comparison of the two.

Notre Dame royalty is here

Coach Lou Holtz & Coach Ty Lou Holtz 😂😂#PMSCFPNATTYESPN2 pic.twitter.com/rk6TZ7azE4

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 21, 2025

The real Holtz is a former national championship-winning head coach for the Irish and has found himself at the center of the Notre Dame-Ohio State rivalry over its last two matchups.

After Ohio State beat Notre Dame during the regular season in 2023, Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day called out Holtz after the 17-14 win. The two have not patched things up, which Day confirmed ahead of the national championship game.

Holtz went on to send a jab back, saying that Notre Dame would want to “preserve” Day’s job if it loses in the College Football Playoff national title game. He also said he wasn’t originally planning to be at the game in person but ultimately decided to attend the game. In turn, it led to the side-by-side comparison of the Real and Fake Lou Holtz.

However, Day did take a moment to touch on the respect he has for current Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman ahead of the game.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Notre Dame, and certainly what Marcus has done there,” Day said during his media availability in the lead-up to Monday night. “I think they’re a gritty group, they’re a tough group. They’re a great program, and the last two years have been a battle playing against them, and we know it’s going to be the same way every year is a different group of guys in a different situation. This is a different situation. It’ll be the same way. 

“But no, I mean every game, you know, you’re either trying to prove somebody right or prove somebody wrong. It doesn’t matter when it is and it’ll be the same thing in this game here.”

Fans can listen to more of Schmit’s impersonation live on ESPN2 alongside him and the rest of the PMS crew.