ESPN’s “College GameDay” was on hand at Ohio Stadium on Saturday ahead of a first-round College Football Playoff matchup between No. 8 Ohio State and No. 9 Tennessee. However, some Ohio State cheerleaders took an unexpected hit while participating in the pregame festivities. During one of the show’s fan-favorite segments, Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest, a Volunteers fan had the chance to win $500,000 – half of it for hurricane relief in Tennessee – if he successfully made a 33-yard field goal in front of hundreds of spectators. On his first attempt, the fan hooked the kick hard left and into a group of OSU cheerleaders standing about 10 feet from Kirk Herbstreit, who was holding for the kick. “Oh, this guy sucks,” McAfee said immediately after the shank. “Holy hell. This guy’s the worst we’ve ever seen. Just took out the Ohio State cheerleaders.”
The fan, wearing heavy duty boots, could be seen burying his face in his hands for a few moments while Herbstreit and others checked on the cheerleading squad, who appeared to come away without significant injury. McAfee even doubled the potential prize pot on the fan’s second and final attempt, but it didn’t matter, as the kick went straight but barely made it off the ground.
Despite matching 10-2 records, Ohio State enters Saturday’s postseason game as 7-point favorites with a 65% chance to win, according to ESPN BET. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN and ABC.