Texas Longhorns Field Goal Kicking Continues to Be Major Issue

The six missed points from field goals could have changed the outcome of the SEC Championship, but weren't the only mistake for the Texas Longhorns.

Dec 7, 2024; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas Longhorns place kicker Bert Auburn (45) practices before the 2024 SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Texas Longhorns kicker Bert Auburn didn't have the game of a lifetime, to put it into simple words.

The Longhorns fell to Georgia 22-19, in a loss that likely could have been avoided had Auburn made two of his field goal attempts.

Auburn had Texas' first six points in two good attempts but missed the third after a good try got flagged for a false start. The 42-yard attempt went wide to the left.

In the third quarter, Auburn missed another try, once again going wide to the left from the 51 yard line.

In a dominating win, missed field goals might not be the end of the world, but in a conference championship as close as this one, every point mattered.

To make things worse, this was a continuing trend for Auburn, who has missed at least one field goal in four of his last five games, and seven of his 21 attempts this season.

Not all was bad for the senior kicker, who scored a season high four field goals in the game. Auburn's first field goal in the first half solidified him as the program's all-time leader in field goals, establishing a new record of 61 above some solid former Texas kickers like Justin Tucker and Cameron Dicker.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian defended not just Auburn, but his entire team for its performance.

"This is the life of a competitor, okay?" Sarkisian said in the post-game press conference. "You get into this arena, you compete at the highest level against quality opponents. There's going to be sways and flows in a ballgame that are sometimes going your way and sometimes don't."

And while Auburn's misses were crucial for the loss, it was an overall combination of factors that led to the result. If the offense was able to capitalize on the drives to their fullest, scoring touchdowns in each rather than going for fourth and goal, the game would have gone another way.

But what happened is already in the past. The Longhorns must learn from their mistakes and perform as they likely host a first round game at Darrel K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium in a couple of weeks.

"We're going to compete for a national championship," Sarkisian said. "That's where my mind is at."

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