Is there any other profession that puts a person in the place Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro was in on New Year’s Day?
With nine seconds left in a College Football Playoff semifinal, Carneiro stood roughly 50 yards away from his target. If he made the field goal, No. 6 Ole Miss wins and doesn’t have to go into overtime. Miss and who knows what happens in overtime.
The field goal unit was lined up, long snapper Carter Short took his position in the middle and holder Oscar Bird took a knee in his spot a few yards behind Short. The Ole Miss players and coaches on the sideline looked on with a mix of hope and optimism.
Everyone was set and Carneiro was ready to kick the most important field goal of the Rebels’ season.
Then the whistles sounded.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart called a timeout a second or two before Ole Miss would snap the ball for its field goal attempt. Football fans know the theory behind Smart’s timeout. Give Carneiro more time to overthink, overreact, let the pressure of the moment seep in and miss the kick.
It’s happened countless times before. Most recently, Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop missed a field goal to send the Ravens into the NFL playoffs after a timeout was called on Sunday night. It was literally the final play of the NFL regular season.
When icing the kicker doesn’t work
However, the “icing” technique didn’t work on Carneiro. The Rebels lined up again, Short snapped the ball perfectly, Bird held it perfectly and Carneiro’s kick was good, sending Ole Miss to the CFP semifinals.
“It was awesome,” Carneiro said at Monday’s media availability. “When we had gotten the ball back, I was just warming in the net, like, it could come down to this (a field goal). I’m just going to stay calm. Then when I got on the field…I have to stay true to myself and do what I do.
“Then when I hit that ball and I saw it was going in, I was like, ‘I’m out,’ and went and celebrated with the guys.”
That celebration was marred somewhat by an awkward final six seconds of game time, but it’s hard to dampen the celebrations for coming through successfully in a high pressure situation like the one Carneiro faced.
Part of what made Carneiro successful, not just on the game-winning field goal but the two record-setting field goals earlier in the game, was the preparation.
“It’s been a lot of training from when I started this working with my kicking coach back home, Carneiro said. “A lot of it goes into the technique aspect, but it’s a big mental thing as well. I talk to a sports psychologist every week just to train my mind to stay calm and just treat it like another kick because I know if I don’t do that, then my mind is going to wander a little bit, and as a kicker, you want to stay as calm and focused as you can.”
A kicker’s supporting cast
The general public may not fully understand the importance of the roles Short and Bird had on Carneiro’s game-winning kick.
Naturally, if the kick is good, Carneiro gets the credit from casual fans. But a lot of things Carneiro can’t control can lead to an unsuccessful field goal attempt.
So, whenever you see a successful field goal or extra point, give some credit to the snapper and holder.
“Those guys start everything for me,” Carneiro said. “Carter Short, he’s been awesome all year long, ever since I got here, and Oscar Bird, being new to American football, he’s done a tremendous job as well.
“I wouldn’t be able to do what I’ve done this year without them, so a lot of my credit just goes to them just because of who they are as people and what they’ve done on the field as well.”
