Scott Van Pelt Admits He Almost Abandoned SportsCenter Tradition Before Idea Provoked ESPN Voices

Scott Van Pelt has been serving up his weekly college football picks on SportsCenter for years. Every Thursday night during football season, Van Pelt delivers his “Winners” segment. He usually picks around five to seven games against the spread to kick off the weekend. It’s become appointment television for college football junkies and bettors alike, a staple of ESPN’s flagship show that’s been on the air since 1979. 

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But this past week, SVP almost threw the entire format out the window. Instead of his usual six picks worth one point each, he considered going all-in on a single game worth six points. It was a bold, risky move that would’ve been unprecedented in the segment’s history. In hindsight, it’s a good thing he stuck with tradition, because he went 5-1 on the week.​

Stanford Steve, Scott Van Pelt’s longtime colleague, revealed the behind-the-scenes drama on a recent episode. “I was actually watching winners with Rece [Davis] at the hotel and I said, ‘Rece, this could be an ll-timer.’” Stanford Steve explained, “I said there were talks this week that we were just going to make one pick worth six points like the old Boomer and Rece, like sat up. He’s like, ‘Is he really going to do this? Cuz I’m all for it. There’s no rules. It’s your show.’ He’s like yelling at the TV. He’s like, ‘Scott, do it. Do it.’ And, you didn’t need it.”

The excitement in Steve’s voice made it clear that even the ESPN insiders were hyped about the possibility of Scott Van Pelt breaking his own format for what he must have thought was a stone-cold lock.​

But Scott Van Pelt, ever the traditionalist, couldn’t bring himself to implement the radical format change. “I’m too principled. I’m too principled to just start making up sh–,” Van Pelt said on the podcast. “A game’s worth one. Look, I tweeted out picks a couple of weeks ago. They weren’t on television. I could have just acted like it didn’t happen. I refused to do that. You got to own them, and so we gave out the five on the regular segment, and then I thought about it.” 

Van Pelt’s adherence to accountability is part of what makes the “Winners” segment so beloved. He tracks his record meticulously, owns his losses, and never tries to hide from a bad week. It’s that integrity that’s kept the segment running strong for over a decade.

SVP never revealed what that six-point mega-pick would have been. He left fans to speculate endlessly about which game he had circled as his absolute lock of the week. His Week 11 card included picks like Missouri +6.5 against Texas A&M, Penn State +14.5 against Indiana, Iowa +6.5 against Oregon, and Wake Forest +6.5 against Virginia. He also picked Colorado State +4.5 against UNLV. 

He ended up giving a bonus winner on Texas Tech, which he mentioned on the show. “Bonus winner on Texas Tech. I gave a bonus winner at the end of the show,” Van Pelt confirmed. That Texas Tech pick, along with four others, came through, giving him a 5-1 week that would have looked even better if he’d put all his chips on that mystery mega-pick.​

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A potential primetime move

While Scott Van Pelt continues to masterfully deliver his Thursday night “Winners” segment, there’s a real possibility he won’t be doing it from the midnight slot much longer. ESPN views that weekday 5 p.m. timeslot (the one “Around the Horn” occupied for over two decades) as prime real estate worth serious consideration. The network is focused on maximizing viewership in that sweet spot between “NFL Live” and “Pardon the Interruption,” two of their cornerstone programs.​

That’s exactly why Scott Van Pelt has become a leading name in the conversation for that 5 p.m. window. The longtime host of the late-night “SportsCenter” and “Monday Night Countdown” might be making the jump to an earlier time slot, according to people familiar with ESPN’s internal discussions. Burke Magnus, ESPN’s president of content, didn’t dance around the question when The Athletic asked him directly; he confirmed Van Pelt is absolutely in the mix. Here’s the interesting part: Van Pelt might’ve already been announced for that spot if ESPN had pulled off their original plan. 

Magnus didn’t hide his personal investment in the idea. He told The Athletic, “That was a bit of a selfish concept by me, because I was such a huge fan of those two when they were together years ago.”

“It just so happened that Ryen was exploring his future on a similar timeline. He ended up doing something different.” Russillo ultimately decided to take his podcast in a different direction, leaving The Ringer to join a new venture with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy.​

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