Devlin Hodges Defends Lainey Wilson After Fans Roast Her College GameDay Performance
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Devlin Hodges is defending his wife Lainey Wilson after her College GameDay performance received backlash.
The country music star was asked to perform at LSU on September 5 for ESPN’s College GameDay Week 1 kickoff. To open the show’s 40th season, she sang a live cover of Big & Rich’s “Comin’ to Your City” backed by the LSU marching band.
Unfortunately, the Louisiana native’s appearance ended up getting a lot of negative feedback online. While a few fans enjoyed seeing Lainey open the football season, many others weren’t impressed.
Some blamed the broadcast’s sound quality, while others simply didn’t like that the traditional opening changed. A few comments on the video shared on X were:
“That opening stunk, what was wrong with the traditional start of the show? Whoever thought up that change needs a long time out.”
“Just me or was that not a great performance?”
“It sounded like garbage. Fix the sound on the broadcast!!!”
“Love Lainey, but that was a train wreck inside a dumpster Fire.”
LET'S GO 🐯@laineywilson and the LSU marching band have the GameDay crowd ready for Week 1 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jRLJpGM1yb
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 5, 2026
Devlin Hodges Defends Wife Lainey Wilson
Soon after the internet was filled with opinions about Lainey’s performance, her husband, former pro footballer Devlin Hodges, came to her defense.
He replied to one of the comments that had gone viral on College GameDay’s video.
“Glad to see you purchased a blue check mark,” Devlin wrote in response to an X user saying, “Why did anyone think this was a good idea?”
Glad to see you purchased a blue check mark. https://t.co/JdVVcG3VVV
— Devlin Hodges (@DevlinHodges10) September 5, 2026
If you don’t understand Devlin’s call-out, he’s pointing out the blue check mark next to the user’s name. The check mark was once reserved for celebrities and other notable accounts, but on X, it can now be purchased by anyone, even if they don’t have a large number of followers.
Devlin’s clapback at the haters was short, but it proved he isn’t going to let his wife be criticized without stepping in. Many fans also responded to his post, hyping up Lainey and saying they thought she nailed the GameDay opener.
“Lainey killed it! People just aren’t happy unless they are mad about something 😂,” a fan wrote.
“I just loved @CollegeGameDay and loved @laineywilson performance and her rockin outfit!” said another.
“She was amazing. Go Tigers,” someone else commented.
Lainey hasn’t commented on the backlash herself, but it seems like she isn’t sweating it and is already moving on.
That same day, she announced that she’ll be hosting this year’s CMA Awards for the third time, and it will be her second time hosting the show solo.
