Penn State Fan Wins $300,000 From Pat McAfee for Nailing 'College GameDay' Kick

This would've been good from 45.
Carson Albright nailed the 33-yard field goal to win $300,000 for himself and William, the contest raffle winner.
Carson Albright nailed the 33-yard field goal to win $300,000 for himself and William, the contest raffle winner. / ESPN

There are good coaching decisions, and then there are great coaching decisions.

William, a finance major from Virginia, made the best decision possible after winning the College GameDay raffle for a chance at Pat McAfee's weekly field goal challenge. Instead of trying it himself, he scanned the crowd for a volunteer and found Carson Albright, a college student from Pennsylvania who played high school soccer.

"I was looking around, I saw my man [Carson] and he said he plays soccer. I was like, 'This is my guy right here. My guy Carson,'" William said. "I've got faith in him. I know he's going to get it done."

After William confirmed that he and Albright would be splitting the winnings 50/50, McAfee raised the prize pool to $300,000. Albright took a deep breath and easily split the uprights on the $300,000 kick.

It would've been good from 45 yards out.

It's been an expensive start to the 2025 college football season for McAfee. Albright's kick was the third successful field goal in the College GameDay challenge, joining students from Ohio State and Oklahoma earlier this year.

McAfee has now gifted a total of $750,000 to students in the field goal challenge—$250,000 to Logan from Ohio State, $200,000 to Jack from Oklahoma and now $300,000 to William and Carson at Penn State.

Kids these days. They can kick.


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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.