Pittsburgh Review

Before Pirates ace Paul Skenes and national champion gymnast Livvy Dunne became MLB’s current power couple, they were known as LSU’s golden couple. On Saturday, the pair returned to their alma mater in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, serving as celebrity guest pickers on ESPN’s “College GameDay” pregame show.

Skenes shared that he "did his homework" to prepare for picking game winners. This prompted former head coach Nick Saban to joke with the National League Rookie of the Year candidate: “Paul, is this the first homework you’ve done at LSU?” To which Skenes replied, “It’s been a while.” GameDay host Rece Davis added humor by saying: “When you throw 103 [mph], A, A, A.”

For the marquee game between No. 11 Alabama and the 15th-ranked Tigers, there was no doubt in Skenes and Dunne's minds. Dunne confidently stated, “There’s only one right answer,” adding, “and it’s LSU.”

Skenes played a pivotal role in leading the Tigers baseball team to a national title in 2023 before being selected as the No. 1 pick by the Pirates in the MLB Draft. In April of that year, Dunne helped secure LSU gymnastics' first national championship.

Dunne supported Skenes during his MLB debut against the Cubs at PNC Park shortly after their collegiate achievements. He had an impressive rookie season with a 1.96 ERA and 170 strikeouts over 133 innings.

The question remains whether Skenes will prove himself as MLB's best college football prognosticator. Recently, Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber set high expectations when he appeared on GameDay dressed in Indiana University attire and successfully predicted eight out of nine games.