Pat McAfee crushes Oregon student who botches kicking contest on College GameDay
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Pat McAfee didn’t care how early it was on Saturday morning in Eugene, where ESPN’s College GameDay was being broadcast in the leadup to the Big Ten showdown between No. 3 Oregon and No. 7 Indiana.
McAfee is never short on energy and passion, no matter what hour it is, and he was all fired up to help a certain Oregon student win some money and a car. There was one problem though. Actually, there were a couple problems, as in a couple of kicks gone awry by the student in his 2 attempts to strike gold before the Ducks’ huge matchup.
The first kick, with College GameDay partner Nick Saban holding the football, was worth $250,000 and a Toyota if the student was able to make it. It was all set up, with the frenzied crowd in Eugene cheering him on, but then the kick happened and, well, it didn’t go so well. So that took care of the first attempt, the money and the car.
But life is full of second chances, and the Oregon student had his second chance on Saturday morning during the “Pat McAfee Kicking Contest.” McAfee, a punter and a kickoff specialist during his career with the Indianapolis Colts, was trying to will the poor Oregon student to some winnings on the 2nd kick.
At stake on that 2nd kick was $500,000 each from McAfee and Saban, so no pressure, kid, just $1 million riding on a kick in the early morning hours in Eugene, with a national TV audience watching. Well, the 2nd chance didn’t go any better, with the Oregon student shanking the kick left, to the groans of the crowd.
“Yeah, this guy stinks!” screamed McAfee. “No winner!”
Here is the full video of the fun and games, or maybe not so fun for the Oregon student:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
