IOWA STUDENT MISSES $1M KICK ON COLLEGE GAMEDAY

Iowa freshman Finley Banfig missed a field goal attempt worth up to $1 million during Pat McAfee's "Kicking Is Easy" contest on ESPN's College GameDay in Iowa City. Banfig, a biology pre-med student, told McAfee before her attempt that she needed to pay for her studies and planned to pursue orthopaedic surgery. Her first kick travelled only a few yards, and a second attempt also missed the uprights, ending her chance at the prize. McAfee responded by telling her "that's okay" after the miss. One report said Banfig had been attempting a $2 million kick, while McAfee's segment overall has distributed more than $9 million in prizes and charitable contributions over its history, according to figures McAfee gave on the broadcast.

Despite the miss, the Iowa City stop still produced a financial contribution, as former Iowa Hawkeyes player Dallas Clark completed a throw that secured $150,000 for Banfig, which McAfee then matched, bringing the total to $300,000. McAfee stated the segment has now given away more than $9.3 million in total across prizes and charity since it began. The contest had produced large winners in previous weeks, including a Tennessee fan who won $1.5 million in Week 4 while former NFL player Peyton Manning watched, along with students from Ole Miss and Texas.

The Iowa appearance followed a run of high-profile wins that had raised expectations for the segment's visit to Iowa City. McAfee highlighted the contest's cumulative charitable total during the broadcast despite the missed million-dollar kick. No further details on future contest locations or amounts were confirmed in the broadcast material.