Kris Budden Responds to Dave Portnoy's Criticism Over BYU Playoff Coverage

In a recent exchange on social media, ESPN sideline reporter Kris Budden confronted Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy after he claimed she displayed "glee" during her coverage of Brigham Young University's College Football Playoff prospects.

Budden, responding to Portnoy's remarks on X, clarified, "You could actually listen to the television where I was talking about their week at practice, and had nothing to do with their chances at the playoffs." Her rebuttal came after Portnoy shared a screenshot of her reporting from BYU’s home stadium, where a graphic indicated the Cougars had a 99.9 percent chance of making the playoffs if they defeated Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game.

Despite the high stakes, BYU ultimately fell short, losing 34-7 to Texas Tech, which led to their exclusion from the playoff field. Portnoy's post questioned ESPN's integrity, stating, "How happy is ESPN to openly report this crime? Look at the glee on her face!"

However, Budden maintained that her focus was not on playoff odds but rather on the Cougars' practice adjustments. "They have struggled with slow starts all year, but primarily also on early kickoffs, so they have rearranged their practices all this week," she explained. "They’ve called it ‘stretch and go,’ the idea is you get off to a hot start and practice, hopefully they can simulate on Saturday."

The controversy surrounding BYU's playoff exclusion intensified as they dropped from 11th to 12th in the final College Football Playoff rankings following their loss. In contrast, Alabama remained at No. 9 despite a significant defeat against Georgia in the SEC championship game.

Hunter Yurachek, chair of the College Football Playoff committee, attributed BYU's drop to their performance in the championship game. "We felt like the way BYU performed in their championship game, a second loss to Texas Tech in a similar fashion, was worthy of Miami moving ahead of them in the rankings," he stated.

BYU expressed its discontent with the committee's decision through a series of posts on X, questioning whether the committee upheld its mission to include the best teams. "Congrats to all the teams who made the @CFBPlayoff," they wrote. "Many talented, deserved programs. Worth asking the question… Was the core mission & purpose of the committee to ensure the BEST teams are included upheld?"

The school also shared a screenshot of the CFP’s mission statement, which emphasizes selecting and ranking the best teams for playoff inclusion. Additionally, they highlighted posts from analysts and former players who criticized the selection process.

Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III remarked, "The CFP selection process is a joke. Punish BYU for losing the conference championship game, but don’t punish Alabama and you leave out Notre Dame. The bias has never been more clear." Meanwhile, former linebacker Will Compton noted, "It’s absolutely INSANE hearing the committee break down BYU’s performance in their Championship game —and then go in FULL PROTECTION mode for Alabama and the performance in their Championship game. Just say out loud ‘we care more about the SEC than the Big 12.’ That wouldn’t sound fair but it’s 100% the reality."