Humble pie was on the menu in South Carolina this past weekend.
With the chance to make some big money while taking on a challenge made by ESPN broadcaster Pat McAfee, one student absolutely booted it – after talking some smack about kickers, too.
With ESPN’s College GameDay broadcasting from the University of South Carolina ahead of the Gamecock’s matchup against LSU on Saturday, a student named Joshua Watson stepped up to take on McAfee’s kicking contest with some life-changing money on the line.
Watson, a sophomore business major at South Carolina, had the chance to win $120,000 US if he made a field goal attempt while surrounded by a large crowd of fans.
Before his attempt, McAfee, a former NFL punter, asked the student if he had ever said anything bad about or made fun of kickers before.
“All the time,” Watson responded. “It’s just so easy, it’s not a sport.”
After telling McAfee that he had never kicked a football before, Watson said: “I’m gonna make it, because it’s easy.”
After lining up his 33-yard attempt, Watson shanked it about as bad as he possibly could. In fact, his shoe went flying farther than the ball.
“Worst kick of all time,” McAfee said in the immediate aftermath. “This kid sucks.”
“We’ve had some s****y kickers, that was embarrassing,” fellow ESPN broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit wrote in a subsequent video McAfee posted on X.
Fans on social media didn’t take it easy on Watson, either.
“This guy’s shoe went farther than the ball! It was entertaining though,” one user wrote on X.
“My two year old can kick better than that. YIKES,” another replied.
Each week during the NCAA college football season, McAfee has picked out a fan to take on the field goal challenge with some big money on the line.
For Watson, $45,000 originally was up for grabs, but country singer Darius Rucker, who was a guest on the show, upped the stakes by adding another $15,000.
Then, after McAfee and Rucker noticed Watson’s shirt, which said “Walk-On for Jake,” in honour of the Jake Panus Scholarship, which awards a South Carolina walk-on with an athletic scholarship, they doubled the potential payout to $120,000.
Despite Watson’s brutal miss, McAfee said that they would still donate $60,000 to the foundation.