Who is Ole Miss kicker? Lucas Carneiro breaks Sugar Bowl field goal record—twice
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If the first two rounds of the 2025-26 College Football Playoff have proven anything, it's that having a reliable kicker is a welcome luxury if a team's offense isn't able to score a touchdown on a drive.
It's something that Mississippi football can say it has in Lucas Carneiro.
The junior kicker set the Sugar Bowl record for the longest field goal made in the New Year's Six bowl at 56-yards in the first quarter against the three-seeded Bulldogs. The 56-yard field goal from Carneiro broke the previous Sugar Bowl record of 55-yards….Which he had set on the Rebels' second drive of the night.
Jk… THIS is the longest field goal in Sugar Bowl history 🫨
Carneiro knocks it through from 56 yards out#CFBPlayoff x #HottyToddypic.twitter.com/AszB8TZK3M
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) January 2, 2026
Carneiro's pair of first-quarter field goals gave Ole Miss an early 6-0 lead in the Sugar Bowl at the Caesar's Superdome in New Orleans, where the Rebels are looking to seek revenge against their SEC foe for an earlier loss in the regular season and punch.
Should the Rebels defeat the Bulldogs, Ole Miss will advance to the CFP Fiesta Bowl semifinals against No. 10 Miami.
Here's what to know on Carneiro:
Who is Lucas Carneiro
Carneiro is in his first season serving as Ole Miss' kicker.
The junior kicker was a part of Ole Miss' fourth-ranked transfer portal class from this past offseason, according to 247Sports' Composite rankings, as he started his college career in Conference USA at Western Kentucky
In his two seasons as the Hilltopper's place kicker, Carneiro posted an 87.1% career clipping on successful field goal attempts and 94.7% field goal percentage last season. His efforts last season, which included becoming the only Conference USA kicker to go 6-for-6 on field goal attempts of at least 50 yards in a singular season since at least 1996, made him an Lou Groza Award semifinalist and first-team All-American.
This season at Ole Miss, Carneiro has been a reliable weapon for the Rebels, as he's connected on 26-of-29 field goal attempts, including the two he made in the first quarter of the Sugar Bowl.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Ole Miss kicker? Lucas Carneiro breaks Sugar Bowl record
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