While the South Carolina football team came into the season with two kickers competing for the starting job, neither delivered when the Gamecocks sought a win over Kentucky on Saturday.
Place kickers Alexander Woznick and Parker White went a combined 0-for-3 on field goals, and Woznick missed an extra point in the Gamecocks' 23-13 loss to Kentucky at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Woznick’s extra point miss came after Deebo Samuel’s 68-yard touchdown reception on the first play of the game, leaving the Gamecocks with only a 6-0 advantage. A few plays later, White was sent out to try a 52-yard kick that sailed wide right. He was sent out again before the end of the first half for a 49-yard attempt. This time, his kick was successful, but the Gamecocks were called for a delay of game penalty.
Did he make the re-kick from 54 yards out? No.
“Disappointed," head coach Will Muschamp said of the play. “Delay of game that shouldn’t happen. That’s my fault, we've got to do a better job of coaching.”
While White struggled from 50-yards plus, Woznick missed a 42-yard kick early in the fourth quarter to try and put the Gamecocks within single digits. His kick fell well short of the crossbar and could be his last field goal attempt of the season.
When asked if White is going to be the starting placekicker going forward, Muschamp said, “Absolutely.”
The missed kicks spoiled not only big plays by the South Carolina defense, but also long drives by the offense. In a game where the Gamecocks lost by 10 points, the USC kickers left 10 points on the board. Quarterback Jake Bentley put the blame on himself for not being able to finish the drives with touchdowns.
“[It's] extremely difficult, to have a good drive put together and then not get any points," Bentley said. “But don’t put any of that on our kickers, we've got to execute our game-plan and get touchdowns.”
Conversely, from the Gamecock specialists, Kentucky kicker Austin MacGinnis was perfect on the night. The senior nailed all three of his field goal attempts, including a 44-yarder and both extra points, scoring 11 points for the Wildcats.
The Kentucky special team also put together a solid strategy to combat Samuel's kickoff return game. The Cats kicked away from Samuel, forcing A.J. Turner and other Gamecocks to receive. The strategy kept Samuel from adding to his tally of two kick-off return touchdowns and helped seal the Wildcats' third win of the season.