Pat McAfee Let Kirk Herbstreit Help Alabama Student Win $300,000 on 'College GameDay'

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Pat McAfee has given out some serious dough as part of his kicking contest on ESPN's College GameDay this season.
He might've been able to give his pockets a rest Saturday as the crew was in Tuscaloosa, Ala., ahead of the Alabama-Vanderbilt showdown, but he let his colleague Kirk Herbstreit help out a lucky student. Gabby Mathis was the Alabama student who won the raffle to compete in this week's kicking contest and although she said she never kicked before, she decided to give it a shot as opposed to letting a friend take the reins.
Her first attempt did not go well, but McAfee let Mathis have Herbstreit try and throw the ball through the uprights for $300,000, an offer she gladly accepted. The former Ohio State quarterback nailed the throw and Mathis couldn't believe it, walking away with a large sum all thanks to Herbstreit.
"If Kirk Herbstreit can throw that football through those uprights, we'll give you $300,000." —@PatMcAfeeShow @KirkHerbstreit just helped this Alabama student secure the bag 😱🔥 pic.twitter.com/xMxVRWXLAw
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 4, 2025
After missed kicks in Weeks 3 and 4, McAfee may have been eager to dole out some cash, especially after Mathis bravely gave the contest a go. He did hand out $300,000 last week at Penn State when a high school soccer player hit the kick. With Saturday's chaos in the kicking competition, McAfee has now handed out more than $1 million on the season. And we're only in Week 6.
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Blake Silverman is a writer at Sports Illustrated, primarily covering the NBA and WNBA. Before joining SI in November 2024 as a breaking/trending news writer, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation and A10Talk. He’s an alum of both Michigan State and St. Bonaventure University, receiving a master’s degree from the Bonnies’ sports journalism program. Outside of work, he’s a husband, father, yogi and fairly mediocre tennis player who’s open to any tips on how to play defense in EA Sports College Football.