This bowl season has been kind to offenses but cruel to kickers, and field goals may again be the difference in Monday night’s Alabama-LSU rematch.
In last Monday’s Fiesta Bowl, Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson missed a 35-yard attempt on the final play of regulation, and the Cardinal ended up losing to Oklahoma State 41-38 in overtime. Hours earlier at the Capital One Bowl, Georgia’s Blair Walsh missed a 42-yarder that could have won it in the first overtime, but the Spartans went on to win 33-30 in three overtimes.
“I started watching these bowl games, but then I just turned them off,” LSU kicker Drew Alleman said. “It’s kind of like watching a horror movie. My Twitter was blowing up when all these kickers were missing kicks. People were saying stuff like, ‘I know Drew Alleman wouldn’t have missed that kick,’ but I had to tune that out. Your heart goes out to those guys, because it’s a terrible feeling.”
Alleman has made 16 of 18 attempts this season to lead the SEC in accuracy, and he sealed LSU’s 9-6 win in Tuscaloosa with a 25-yarder. As a junior in high school, he made a 32-yard attempt as time expired to lead Acadiana to Louisiana’s 5A state championship in the Superdome, but he missed a game-winner in high school as well.
Alabama’s Cade Foster is used for attempts longer than 40 yards and was just 2-of-9 during the regular season, including a 1-for-4 performance against LSU the first time around. Jeremy Shelley made 16 of 20 on attempts within 40 yards, but he was 1-for-2 against the Tigers.