He can be the difference between a Saturday of pure joy and abject pain, between a four-win season and bowl eligibility, between a late December bowl and a sparkling setting on New Year’s Day — or even a College Football Playoff berth.

So with the 2016 season about to kick off, we offer our synopsis of the guys who’ll be doing the kicking and decide if that program’s kicking game is in strong shape, OK shape or on shaky footing. We’re doing this in August, so by October this could be a foreshadowing or just plain false. Time and those fickle uprights will help give us the real answers.

Alabama

Kicking for the Crimson Tide means kicking in a lot of blowouts, and kicking a lot of extra points. Adam Griffith attempted a whopping 62 of them last season. He made them all. And he was 23 of 32 on field goals, not great but not bad either, and Griffith should be fine this fall as a senior who knows the drill in big games. He also has a strong leg, with 55 of his 100 kickoffs last year going for touchbacks.

Synopsis: OK shape.

Arkansas

Redshirt sophomore Cole Hedlund needs to start kicking like the Parade All-American he was coming out of high school. Like Griffith, he was perfect on PATs last year, going 58 for 58. But Hedlund was only 9 for 15 on field-goal attempts. You would think that will improve this fall based on talent alone.

Synopsis: OK shape.

Auburn

The Tigers are one of the blessed few with a bonafide weapon in Daniel Carlson, who is considered the best kicker in the conference and maybe the country. The 6-4, 218-pound redshirt junior made 23 of 27 field-goal attempts last year, including a 56-yarder, and all but 20 of Carlson’s 69 kickoffs were touchbacks.

He was a Walter Camp second-team All-American last year and a Lou Groza Award finalist. This fall, the Groza could very well be his.

Synopsis: Strong shape.

Florida

Is the new kid in Gainesville a supposed savior of sorts? Eddy Pineiro is going to wear the No. 15 donned by Tim Tebow. The transfer from ASA Community College in North Miami Beach was a big-time soccer player in high school, and his kicking claim to fame is a 77-yarder that’s been viewed endlessly on YouTube.

He’s a bit of a novelty now. But he’ll be the real deal when the games count. And the Gators, who missed five extra points last year, need him to be. Pineiro should solidify things.

Synopsis: OK shape.

Georgia

Whoever wins the Bulldogs’ kicking battle should have plenty of chances to kick plenty of extra points, assuming Nick Chubb is healthy, and even a few field goals, too. Redshirt freshman Rodrigo Blankenship, redshirt sophomore William Ham and freshman Mitch Wasson are competing for the job, and all were walk-ons.

Blankenship might have the edge. But until someone proves himself under autumn’s hot lights, and that someone very well might, kicker could be a real question mark.

Synopsis: Shaky footing.

Kentucky

Austin MacGinnis is solid and experienced and should get plenty of work as part of a potent attack. Wildcats coach Mark Stoops said at SEC Media Days that MacGinnis is one of the best kickers in the country when healthy. Well, MacGinnis is heathy after battling a groin injury last season.

Synopsis: Strong shape.

LSU

Colby Delahoussaye will be kicking with a heavy heart and for one of the favorites to win the national title. That’s a lot of emotion to take on. After starting in 2013 and ’14, he spent last fall on the bench behind Trent Domingue, who transferred to Texas.

So it’s Delahoussaye’s job again, but the Wisconsin car accident he was in that killed former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler and Nebraska punter Sam Foltz was only a month ago, and it’ll take extreme focus and strength for Delahoussaye to be effective. But I’m betting on the guy and LSU’s fine support system.

Synopsis: OK shape.

Mississippi State

Westin Graves was the the second-most accurate kicker in the SEC last year, going 15 of 18 on field-goal attempts and 52 of 54 on PATs. Not bad for a former walk-on. He doesn’t have a huge leg — his career-long is only 44 yards — but on a team with many concerns, kicking isn’t one of them.

Synopsis: OK shape.

Missouri

After four years of the steady Andrew Baggett, it’s time to turn the page, and freshman Tucker McCann seems like a fine solution. The three-star recruit was highly sought after, choosing Missouri over Alabama and Illinois, which is McCann’s home state.

He was the country’s fifth-rated kicker in the 2016 class. McCann will be just fine in the long run, but this should still be an adjustment year, as is usually the case with a freshman thrown into the fire.

Synopsis: OK shape.

Ole Miss

Junior Gary Wunderlich has a big leg, and he was used as a punter and kickoff specialist as a freshman, so he can handle a lot. The third-team preseason All-SEC pick by Athlon is used to kicking for a program with large expectations, so this fall won’t faze him one bit. Last year, his 120 points were the seventh-most in SEC history. He could surpass that number this fall.

Synopsis: Strong shape.

South Carolina

This is similar to Mississippi State, since the Gamecocks probably won’t win many games this season, but it won’t be because of their kicker. South Carolina is thankful to have senior Elliott Fry back for one last go-around, and the former walk-on is on the Lou Groza Award Watch List again, hardly a shock.

He’s dependable, having kicked in every game for the Gamecocks since he arrived as a freshman, he can kick it far — with a career-long 52-yarder — and he’s accurate, having made 81 percent of his kicks inside 50 yards.

Synopsis: Strong shape.

Tennessee

Junior Aaron Medley has started all 26 of the Volunteers’ games since he arrived in Knoxville as a three-star prospect, and there’s something to be said for that. He was only 21 for 31 in field-goal attempts last year but made 12 of his last 14 kicks, and Medley won’t hinder the potent Vols from putting up huge amounts of points. His career-long field goal is only 47 yards, but with that offense most of his attempts should be on the shorter side anyway.

Synopsis: OK shape.

Texas A&M

The Aggies lost Taylor Bertolet, who wasn’t drafted but signed as a free agent with the Rams. So there’s big shoes to fill for sophomore Daniel LaCamera, who has exactly three extra points and four kickoffs (two touchbacks) to his name. But he also made a 60-yarder in high school and was a three-star recruit who had Florida and Colorado after him, so there is great potential to go with the proverbial adjustment period.

Synopsis: OK shape.

Vanderbilt

Redshirt junior Tommy Openshaw has made only 20 of 30 field-goal attempts in his first two seasons, but the good news is this fall he’ll be able to focus on placekicking after serving as the kicker and punter last season. Openshaw only made 12 of 19 kicks last year but interestingly was 7 for 10 from 40-49 yards. Maybe he can thrive this fall after shedding his punting duties. Until that happens, the jury is out.

Synopsis: Shaky footing.