I just happened to be watching the tail end of the Penn State vs. UCLA game this weekend. Penn State was highly ranked and UCLA was 0-4. The Bruins rallied to take the lead late in the game 42-37 with just a little over a minute to go in the game. Their offense ran the ball three times for no yards and took very little time off the clock (State had all 3 time outs). So on 4th down (on their own 11, the punting unit came on for UCLA and the colorman, Gary Danielson, correctly surmised that UCLA should take a safety to burn more time off the clock. With just 25 seconds to go in the game, Will Karol (an Aussie who may not have even known about taking safeties) executed a "stall play". Typically, you can steal about 5 seconds off the clock — the punter takes 8 seconds off the clock! Apparently, Penn State didn't get the memo. 😜 1. Catch the snap. 2. Run to the corner of the end zone and wait. 3. Don't let anyone get close enough to even touch you. 4. Step out of the end zone. 5. Take the safety, give the other team 2 points 6. Free kick — kick off (or punt) from your own 20 with no chance for a blocked kick. 7. Let your defense take care of business with very little time left on the clock. 8. Win the game.* *Of course, it could go wrong, one big pass play and Penn State kicks a long FG for the tie and a chance for an OT win. Or, worse yet, a miracle TD to win the game with just 15 seconds left. But odds are what they are, and coaches are typically best to play them. You just need to do your part.

Thanks to Kicking Skool member @Cody Van Thull for alerting me to this horrible unicorn... Will Reichard of the Vikings (who had been perfect all season on FGs, btw) misses a 51 yd. FG vs. the Browns in London to tie the game in the 4th quarter. Thing is, it hits the camera cable wire on it's way to the goal posts and deflects wide right. In the NFL rulebook, there is a provision for the ball being obstructed by anything other than another player — and it's a re-kick. But no one saw it. Really? Wonder what Will thought? Did he protest? Do kickers have the right to protest? Can we throw a red flag or something? I didn't see the game... so it never happened. 😞

Max Gilbert is a 5-star recruit, was redshirted at Tennessee, then kicked last year making 20-26 FGs and was given a full scholarship just this summer to be the Vols placekicker again. Up to this kick, he's been perfect — 4-4 this season before being brought in to make the game winning kick vs. super-rival #6 ranked Georgia. For 8 long years, the Bulldogs have had the Vols number. With the score tied at 38-38... put yourself in Max's place. Feel what he's feeling. This is me taping the game live... not knowing how it will turn out. If you didn't see it — experience it for yourself. You can't help but feel the nervousness creep in. (watch the whole thing...) • How would you handle it? • What do you do to prepare? • Do you want this opportunity?

Hopefully, my message about K-Zone is having an effect on you, your coach and your team. Ultimately, it's just about trying to win games. I believe in getting points on every possession. Who doesn't? In our first game of the year, Wisconsin Lutheran College was desperate to keep the game tight, losing 20-7 just a few minutes before the half. This video shows the end of an offensive drive with a 4th and 6 on the 15 yard line. It's a K-Zone kick (32 yard FG, but with a fairly strong crosswind). Our kicker is 1-1 on PATs thus far, but we got some strong penetration on that PAT and a wing who missed part of his assignment. Our coach takes a timeout to consider. You can see we use a bunch of that timeout on making a decision. The Head Coach, the D-Coordinator and me, the Special Teams coach. The DC is aggressive and thinks we should go for the score. I'm telling him to kick it. In the end, it's up to the head coach to decide. Notice that our kicker, holder and snapper are right there, we have one of our assistants gathering the FG unit, while spare backs and receivers are nearby no matter the call. Coaches, prep for just this situation to make your hard job just a bit less stressful. It's all a good dilemma to have, but you have less than 60 seconds to decide, because if you ARE going to GO FOR IT, you still need a play call.🤔 Or do you call for a FG fake? What's your call? What will our coach do? _ _ _ _ _ Watch and find out how well Coach Treske's decision actually was...

Would he be able to kick further than Cam Little?