Ode to the GOAT: The best moments of Austin MacGinnis' Kentucky career

With Austin MacGinnis ready to play in his last college football game in Lexington and his last regular season game as a Wildcat, there's really no debate: He's the greatest kicker in Kentucky history.

Actually, that debate has been settled for a long time.

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Before the season I asked Cats Illustrated's other writers to participate in a series of round table discussion topics. When the question of Kentucky's MVP arose, I went with Benny Snell. I don't regret that pick at all, but Jeff Drummond's slightly unorthodox selection of Austin MacGinnis has also been vindicated. There's actually a very strong case to be made for MacGinnis as a leading Kentucky MVP candidate, not only this season but over the last two seasons combined.

MacGinnis doesn't have nearly the number of game impact opportunities as Stephen Johnson, Benny Snell or some others, but like a high leverage reliever in baseball, his opportunities just count for more. One kick can be the difference between winning and losing in a much more real way than one pass, one run or one catch. The difference between getting three points from 50 yards out and failing to score is enormous. When you have a kicker who can consistently go get those points, and in high pressure situations, and when your team is so prone to play in very close games, well, you've got an MVP candidate.

Here are the greatest moments from Austin MacGinnis' Kentucky career thus far.

Nailing the game winner in Starkville in a 40-38 win against Mississippi State last year.

With the Wildcats trailing by one and the ball spotted at the 34 yard line with time set to expire after the kick, the average college kicker would have really been up against it in that situation. But Austin MacGinnis calmly booted the ball between the uprights to the delight of the Kentucky faithful and was picked up by his teammates during a jubilant celebration. With the ball spotted almost perfectly between the hash marks in the center of the field, the kick was as straight as it could have been and the only thing for an apprehensive Kentucky crowd to wait on was the distance. Good: Three points. Victory. MacGinnis was 4/5 on that night and scored 14 of Kentucky's 40 points against the Bulldogs, including those three that mattered most.

That field goal gave Kentucky its first win against Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen. Don't forget, also, at that point in the season Kentucky was only 3-3 with seven-point wins against unimpressive South Carolina and Vanderbilt teams and a win against NMSU that didn't feel like much of a win as its only conquests.

Kentucky might have finished the season with three wins after that anyways, but they wouldn't have finished with seven without that win, which means the program likely wouldn't have been in the third Florida bowl game in school history. That kick may have created the huge momentum that carried Kentucky to its most dominant half of the season the very next week against Missouri.

That win put Kentucky at 4-3 and cast an entirely different light on Mark Stoops' standing as the program's coach.

MacGinnis' first clutch 51-yarder came in a losing effort at Florida in 2014.

Kentucky fans will forever remember Florida's 36-30 victory over the Cats in '14 as that game when a delay of game passed without a flag and the game's outcome was directly impacted.

There aren't any moral victories for Kentucky against Florida anymore. Not with that streak still standing. But there were some outstanding individual performances in that dramatic triple overtime game in the Swamp. Patrick Towles made big throws. Garrett Johnson had one of his best games as a Kentucky player, as a freshman against one of his home state schools. Boom Williams did Boom Williams things.

And Austin MacGinnis drilled a 51-yarder that ultimately sent the game into the first overtime period.

With 3:57 on the clock and Kentucky trailing 20-17, the ball was snapped and placed near the right hash. MacGinnis, then a young, little-known freshman, put plenty of leg on the ball. The wind didn't affect the kick, but a ball that once appeared to be sailing wide right hooked left at the perfect moment and ricocheted off the pole and in. Brent Musberger called it a pinball. Will Muschamp walked away in frustration and Mark Stoops celebrated on the sidelines. It was a signature moment for a freshman in such a hostile environment and while the game ended in a loss for Kentucky, it was a foretaste of the golden age of Kentucky placekicking that has since ensued.

Kentucky defeats Louisville 41-38 on the road in college football's biggest upset of the 2016 season.

A whole sequence of events had to occur for MacGinnis to have an opportunity to drive a nail in the coffin for the Cardinals in last year's regular season finale. Lamar Jackson had to fumble with the Cardinals driving in their own game-winning bid. Kentucky had to move the ball into scoring position.

By that point in MacGinnis' career the odds were in his favor on that kick. Clutch kicks had already come to characterize his career and the momentum shift following Jackson's fumble and subsequent Kentucky drive created a unique dynamic largely unfamiliar to Wildcat football fans. For a program so accustomed to heartache, the perfect remedy was MacGinnis trotting onto the field with the game on his leg. Who better to do it?

MacGinnis had already hit one field goal in the game and on 4th and 2 with :18 on the clock, Stoops made the obvious call to entrust his team's fate to the best kicker in school history.

Once the ball left MacGinnis' right foot there was never any doubt on this one. An already nervous Louisville crowd immediately went quiet.

Those kicks were MacGinnis' most dramatic, defining moments as Kentucky's kicker.

But they only tell a small part of the story that has been the true greatness of his college career. MacGinnis' uncanny consistency from year to year to year to year has been rare for kickers or any players at other positions.

In spite of battling injuries as a sophomore, MacGinnis finished 13/17. Hardly a slump.

Last season was the first time in what felt like ages that Kentucky had finished the season strong and with some momentum. No surprise, MacGinnis was 7/7 down the stretch in 2016.

In spite of starting four straight years as Kentucky's kicker, MacGinnis only missed more than one field goal in three games during his entire career.

Perhaps his most difficult stretch came this season, when he was a very uncharacteristic 3/7 over two games against Florida and Eastern Michigan. Look closer, and all of those misses were long range, high difficulty attempts. How did MacGinnis respond? With all the command and confidence required to rebound with four makes on four attempts in a 40-34 win against a resurgent Missouri team. Those 16 points in that win against the Tigers were tied for the highest single-game scoring output in MacGinnis' career, and was an essential part of the win.

MacGinnis has only misfired on two extra points as the Wildcats' kicker.

It's perfectly fitting that MacGinnis' college career is ending on the highest of high notes, as he's carrying an 11-make streak into his final regular season game.

Counting the last two seasons, MacGinnis has been true on 14 consecutive November field goal attempts.

If Saturday's game comes down to a MacGinnis attempt there's no guarantee it goes in. But you'd be a fool to doubt.