Penn State will open the 2023 season with a primetime matchup with West Virginia, a historic regional rival from before Penn State’s days in the Big Ten. Now that the game is beginning to come into closer view, the trash talk between Penn State and West Virginia fans is about to hit a boil, and former Mountaineer and rising college football analyst Pat McAfee is coming out swinging at former Penn State center A.Q. Shipley.
McAfee, an analyst for ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show, called out Shipley on his X, formerly known as Twitter, account on Sunday afternoon.
McAfee, a devoted fan of professional wrestling, channeled his inner-Hulk Hogan asking Shipley “Whatchu gon’ do when WVU runs over PSU in Happy Valley in Week 1?!”
Hey @aqshipley..
WHATCHU GON’ DO WHEN WVU RUNS OVER PSU IN HAPPY VALLEY WEEK 1?! pic.twitter.com/ABvnjhYNXZ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 13, 2023
Shipley did respond to McAfee’s callout, and he seemed more than ready and willing to lay some stakes down on the line.
Bro…i literally just laughed out loud. What we bettin…
— AQ Shipley (@aqshipley) August 13, 2023
McAfee and Shipley for former NFL teammates. The two crossed paths one season with the Indianapolis Colts. McAfee spent his entire NFL career with the Colts from 2009 through 2016. Shipley spent two seasons, one in 2012 and another in 2014, during that span.
It is not as though Penn State was looking for any bulletin board material, but you can be sure this social media post from McAfee, among the most popular college football and sports media personalities of this generation, will make the rounds around the program, even if just for laughs.
Penn State is an early favorite to send West Virginia back to Morgantown with a loss to start the season. Penn State will host West Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 2 for a primetime matchup on NBC.
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