How Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro's 'mulligans' helped him hit Sugar Bowl winner
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NEW ORLEANS − As he lined up for the game-winning 47-yard field goal attempt, Ole Miss football kicker Lucas Carneiro had experience kicking from that spot on the turf.
It wasn’t good experience.
His kick the day before from that spot to the south end zone in Caesars Superdome had missed.
“These guys will tell you, we had our Fast Friday field goal script,” Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said. “It didn’t look like that, so we made him do it again. Then we made him do it again. He got his mulligans out.”
Carneiro kicked the game-winner right down the middle of the uprights with six seconds left in the Sugar Bowl Jan. 1. Ole Miss beat Georgia 39-34 and advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8 (6:30 p.m. CT).
The winner will go to the national championship in Miami on Jan. 19 vs the winner of the Peach Bowl between Indiana and Oregon.
It was the high note of a hugely important day for the junior transfer from Western Kentucky. Carneiro was 3-for-3, with his other makes coming from 55 yards and 56 yards in the first half. Both of those kicks were Sugar Bowl records.
“Something I’ve learned is just controlling myself and staying calm,” Carneiro said. “At the end of the day it’s just my job and what I do.”
Carneiro is 27-for-30 on field goals in 2025. He has been an excellent transfer portal addition since coming in from Western Kentucky before the season. Golding said he has worked on getting to know Carneiro better since taking over head coaching duties from Lane Kiffin on Nov. 30.
“I think a lot of people in the country think Lucas is the best kicker in the country,” Golding said. “A lot of people want Lucas, so I’ve been meeting with Lucas a lot lately. We’ve had a lot of good meetings here. Especially this week.”
Carneiro said his range was about 60 yards. When the time came for his game-winning attempt, he didn’t discuss anything with Golding. Georgia coach Kirby Smart iced Carneiro with a timeout. It wasn’t effective. It gave Carneiro time to focus on his two-word phrase: “Swing smooth.”
Carneiro said he likes kicking in big moments. It seems he’s better in the Superdome with pressure than without it.
“The day before the game, it’s like a walkthrough,” quarterback Trinidad Chambliss said. “And he went out there and missed two field goals, and that’s very uncharacteristic of him. So for him to hit the game-winning field goal, there’s no doubt in our minds that he won’t be able to make that. So we always have trust in Lucas. Yeah, we believe in him.”
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: What Ole Miss’ Lucas Carneiro said about Sugar Bowl-winning kick
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