Typically our Remember When series deals with events beyond almost all living memory, but this time is a little different. The very first thing that I wrote for Eleven Warriors, way back in those heady days of 2010, was about kicking. I made a Simpsons joke, made fun of Lydell Ross, and generally extolled the virtues of just one guy being essentially the only functioning part of Ohio State’s offense in the early days of the Tressel era. To wit: …What if there was a team so incompetent offensively that the kicker became the most consistent scoring weapon? What if that kicker shared his name with a man who once laid down some serious riffs in a loincloth? What if that team was the 2004 Ohio State Buckeyes and that kicker was Mike Nugent? Part of the reason that I thought this might make for a good Remember When? is because under Urban Meyer, the field goal kicking game has become increasingly less important. In his first year as head coach, Ohio State attempted 11 field goals, which is 15 fewer than Jim Tressel’s team did in his last season at Ohio State. In fact, Tressel’s teams averaged 24.5 field goal attempts a year, whereas Urban’s teams have only sent out their field goal unit an average of 14 times a year. The reasons for this should be fairly obvious, but I’m worried that as we revel in an orgy of red zone touchdown conversions, we’re forgetting a truly incredible run by one of the greatest Ohio State placekickers of all time. One grainy video is the only…
Continue Reading: Remember When: A Placekicker Saved Ohio State's Season, Repeatedly
