Ole Miss kicker sets Sugar Bowl record for longest field goal twice in first half
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Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro became the show, at least early, in Thursday night’s Sugar Bowl showdown between SEC rivals.
The junior thrust himself into the spotlight in the all-or-nothing College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Georgia by setting a Sugar Bowl record not once but twice in the first 15 minutes. Carneiro provided all of the scoring for Ole Miss as the Rebels grabbed a 6-0 lead over the Bulldogs after one quarter, but it was how he did it that had everybody talking.
First, Carneiro booted a 55-yard field goal with 5:47 left in that eventful first quarter to put Ole Miss on the scoreboard. It was a heck of a kick that set the all-time Sugar Bowl record for longest field goal, and it had a chance to be celebrated for about 2 seconds.
Or, to be exact, less than 4 minutes of actual game time. Because with 2:13 left in the period, Carneiro outdid himself, setting the Sugar Bowl record again with this 56-yard boot that had the Ole Miss fans going nuts in New Orleans:
One quarter, 2 long kicks and 2 separate Sugar Bowl records for Carneiro, who was 24 of 27 on field goal attempts this season coming into the showdown.
Carneiro also hadn’t missed an extra point attempt this season, coming into the matchup a perfect 53 of 53.
The night was young in New Orleans though for Carneiro, who was lurking on the sidelines as Ole Miss’s secret weapon to possibly make the ultimate difference later in the game.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
