Vanderbilt student Tyler Hwang won $500,000 on ESPN’s “College GameDay” Saturday morning by making a 33-yard field goal during host Pat McAfee’s weekly kicking contest. McAfee donated another $250,000 to charity, bringing the successful kick’s total to $750,000.

“College GameDay” traveled to Nashville for Saturday’s matchup between No. 15 Missouri and No. 10 Vanderbilt, marking the first time the show aired from the campus since 2008. On Wednesday, Vanderbilt’s special teams players hosted a kicking clinic on campus to help students prepare for McAfee’s contest. About 100 Vanderbilt students attended.

Hwang, a chemical engineering and economics major from Dover, Mass., didn’t mention being at the midweek clinic, but he did say before the kick that he played soccer growing up and kicked for his high school football team as a senior.

“Have you ever made a kick from this far?” ESPN host Kirk Herbstreit asked Hwang before the attempt.

“Oh, of course,” Hwang responded.

ONE KICK ONLY TYLER

$500,000 TO YOU & $250,000 TO CHARITY

TAKE THE LAP KID

YOU MURDERED THAT FOOTBALL

TYLER IS AN ABSOLUTE DAWG #CollegeGameDay https://t.co/RUzZ1q7nWd pic.twitter.com/Zz2x1X6nJz

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 25, 2025

Hwang, sporting a No. 2 jersey of Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, nailed the 33-yard attempt seconds later, wearing only socks on his feet. He took an exuberant victory lap to celebrate with Vandy fans, punctuated by a chest bump with McAfee.

Hwang also received some pre-kick encouragement from former Vanderbilt soccer player and football placekicker Sarah Fuller, who was on hand and mic’d up for the contest. Fuller filled in to kick for the football team in 2020, when the Commodores’ special teams unit was decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic. She kicked off in a loss to Missouri and went 2-for-2 on extra point attempts in a loss to Tennessee, becoming the first woman to suit up for a Power 5 conference program since Katie Hnida at Colorado in 1999.

It feels like this kid is gonna make this kick

“It looks like you’re in trouble” 😂😂😂

Coach Saban #CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/5HB9jKeVz6

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 25, 2025

“That was the best kick we’ve ever had,” Herbstreit said afterward.

“You said it’s been two years?” McAfee added. “I think maybe you should start trying to send some tape out to colleges around the country. You murdered that, brother.”

Hwang said the money would go toward helping his parents pay for college.

“GameDay” host Rece Davis later said, though perhaps jokingly, that Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea asked for Hwang’s contact info.

With the make, McAfee has now pledged to give away a total of $4 million this season between prizes and charity donations. McAfee came up with the idea for the contest ahead of the 2023 season and puts up his own money each week. He said he gave away $1.7 million in 2024, including $800,000 on a single kick at Georgia last November, with $400,000 split between two Georgia fans and $400,000 going to relief efforts in North Carolina after the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene.