Each week, on ESPN’s College GameDay, a student in attendance has a chance to kick a field goal and win a hefty cash prize courtesy of Pat McAfee, who pays the winners out of his own pocket.
This season, it’s felt like each week has amped up the drama, not to mention the financial incentives, and the bar keeps getting raised around the excitement and anticipation of whether or not the ball will sail through the uprights.
During Saturday’s GameDay in Salt Lake City, McAfee upped the ante in the wake of several made kicks, introducing two blocking dummies that the kickers would have to maneuver. He also upped the prize to $750,000, split between the student who won the raffle and the one he picked to kick for him, along with a $250,000 donation to a local charity.
The chosen kicker, Jonah, got set to attempt the kick as Kirb Herbstreit held the ball. However, McAfee started playing mind games by icing the kicker.
Chaos at the College GameDay Field Goal Kick. First, Pat McAfee tries to ice Jonah before he attempts to win $750K. pic.twitter.com/AjVRIRMf98
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 1, 2025
Unfortunately for Jonah, the icing works, and he pushed the kick wide right. However, the raffle winner cheekily claimed he’d called a timeout before the kick, and McAfee gave Jonah another shot for $250,000.
Jonah’s second kick appeared to sail over one of the uprights. Stanford Steve, acting as the official under the goalposts, said that the kick was no good. However, McAfee reached out to “New York” to get some replay confirmation, and the kick was ruled as good.
On the second attempt, Jonah’s kick was good. OR WAS IT? Stanford Steve said no, but the replay officials back in New York confirmed it was GOOD! pic.twitter.com/DzxgzcOvgx
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 1, 2025
It’s going to get harder and harder for GameDay and McAfee to raise the bar on the drama around this challenge, but so far, they’ve put it through the uprights each week.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.