Last-second kick keeps Kentucky's bowl hopes alive

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Austin MacGinnis knew he was going to kick the game winner. There was no doubt in his mind that when all the weight of Kentucky’s season was on his shoulders, he would deliver.

“As soon as we went up six, I started to telling myself this might come down to me,” the Wedowee, Ala., native said. “They started driving – so I had to put in my mind ‘I’m about to kick a game-winner.’ I told Grant (McKinniss), our punter, ‘I’m about to kick a game-winner.’ I told the managers ‘I’m about to kick a game-winner.’ And then – God bless – I got a chance and put it through the uprights.”

But before MacGinnis belted the ball through the uprights and brought new life to the fans in Commonwealth Stadium, he had to have one more quick kick in the corner and then he’d jog onto the field.

The miss on his field goal attempt from 28 yards out in the first quarter had to be lingering in the junior’s mind. It also had to be lingering in Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen’s mind. MacGinnis wasn’t expecting to trot on the field, lineup and boot the game-winner right away – Mullen was going to call a timeout and ice him.

“In my net, I was kicking and I was thinking ‘They’re probably going to ice me – they’ve got two timeouts,’” MacGinnis said. “But they didn’t ice me. Ball snapped, (I) kicked it.”

The 50,414 in attendance seemed frozen in their seats when the leather ball sailed through the air and appeared to be on a steady decline that would meet the horizontal yellow pole of the field goal post.

It was a kick that either keeps Kentucky’s hopes for a bowl alive or demolishes what seemed to be any glimmers of hope the program had left. It was a kick that will be discussed at barber shops, golf courses and bars across the Commonwealth. It was a kick that cemented Austin MacGinnis in Kentucky football history.

“I can’t thank my snapper and holder enough, Blake Best and Tristian Yeomans,” MacGinnis said. “Really the whole team getting us in position…In the SEC, you can’t just win from offense. You can’t just win from defense – its got to be defense, special teams and offense.”

As much as he might not want to admit it, MacGinnis’s life won’t be the same – at least for now. He’ll walk around campus on Monday and be tabbed by many as the “guy who saved Kentucky’s season.”

When asked if his life will change, MacGinnis responded with a grin ear to ear. “Eh it may be a little better.”

He finished the evening 4-of-5 and is now 4-of-7 in his career from 50+ yards. MacGinnis is also the second player in school history to have at least four career field goals of 51 yards. But none will compare to the one he kicked as the time expired on Saturday.

“It felt so good,” MacGinnis said when he saw his kick soar through the uprights. “It felt like a relief. It feels so good to get over the hump. We haven’t beaten Mississippi State since I’ve been here, so it felt really good to get the SEC win.”

The kick gave Mark Stoops and Kentucky its third conference win and fourth overall win. The Cats jumped to second place in the SEC East, and the likelihood of making a bowl for the first time since 2010 seems more than manageable with Austin Peay, Missouri and Georgia still left on the schedule.

“I think we both just looked at each other and I don’t even know what we said,” Stoops said when he met MacGinnis following the kick. “Just, you know, I gave him a hug and probably told him I loved him.”

It has been a season full of ups, downs and surprises for the Cats. However, one thing still remains the same – Kentucky can still make a bowl, no matter if its wins come as blowouts or game-winning kicks.

But for Stoops, Saturday’s win was “just like we drew it up.”