Buckeyes Ready To Get Their Kicks In Fiesta Bowl
Jan 2, 2003
By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – Ohio State started the season with big questions about their special teams. The Buckeyes finished with a kicker and punter who were among the nation’s best.
“Special teams aren’t going to win championships, but it’s another one of those little steps you have to be successful at to win,” Buckeyes kicker Mike Nugent said.
The No. 2 Buckeyes are 13-0 heading into Friday night’s championship showdown against No. 1 Miami in the Fiesta Bowl. Nugent and punter Andy Groom relish the chance to perform on a national stage.
“I think Nooge and I and the returners are going to be a huge factor in this game,” said Groom, a former walk-on who averaged 44.6 yards a punt this year. “We’re going to have to have superior special teams to be able to win this game.”
Miami coach Larry Coker stressed Thursday that field position is key, and that’s where special teams come in.
“They have been able to control the clock, grind it out,” he said. “And they’ve got a great field-goal kicker.”
Groom was a quality punter a year ago as a junior, but Nugent has been one of the biggest surprises this season. He was Ohio State’s first kicker to make first-team All-American.
He converted just 7-of-14 field goals as a freshman last season, had one blocked and didn’t make a kick from outside 44 yards. He missed four attempts from 36 yards or shorter, including a 28-yard chip shot.
This year he made his first 23 kicks. He finished 24-of-26 with no blocks and converted five kicks beyond his career best, including a 51-yarder in a win over Indiana.
“As spring practice ended, Mike had every confidence that he was going to emerge as our kicker and that he was not going to allow anything around him to affect him, whether it was the opponent’s rush or 100,000 people or a snap or whatever,” coach Jim Tressel said. “Mike did that through a lot of hard work and believing in himself.”
Nugent made a 45-yard field goal in the opener against Texas Tech, and the successes kept coming.
He set seven Ohio State kicking records this season, including most points by a kicker (113), most field goals in a season (24), most consecutive field goals made (24), most consecutive games with at least one field goal (12) and most field goals of 40 yards or longer in a season (9).
“Last year we were a little inconsistent,” quarterback Craig Krenzel said, referring to the Buckeyes’ kicking game. “This year we were darned near perfect.”
Nugent understands that fans often only remember a kicker’s name after he’s missed a field goal in the closing seconds.
“That’s the thing with kicking: You have to be consistent,” he said. “You can have a great season and go into the last game and have everyone not do what they’re supposed to do.”
Tressel has long said that he believes the most important play in football is the punt. So he surely feels good about having Groom.
The second-team All-American has had 14 punts downed inside the opponent’s 20. Against Wisconsin, he had a 74-yard punt in a game the Buckeyes won 19-14. Against the Badgers, he averaged 50.2 yards on his six punts – beating Wisconsin’s punter by 15 yards a kick.
“If you win the special teams battle, you’ve got a lot better chance of winning the game,” said Ohio State free safety Donnie Nickey, a contributor on the kicking units. “We’re going to go after Miami’s kicks and they’re going to come after us.”
