King James Bible: Kicking in the Ivies, An Inexact Science

At a time when Ivy League football talent is arguably at its highest point in the modern era, one aspect of the game is still lagging far behind.

Penn knows it. Princeton knows it. And Brown most definitely knows it.

You’ve got to be sound in the kicking game.

No. 22 Penn lost 16-13 to No. 11 Villanova on Saturday, while its kicker, Evan Nolan, missed three field goals in the contest. To be fair, two of them were blocked. To be more fair, the two that were blocked came from 21 and 23 yards. As a point of reference here, a PAT is kicked from about 20 yards away and how many PATs have you seen blocked in your lifetime?

The third field goal was a bit more difficult, coming from 37 yards out on the right hash. Nolan got this clear of the line, but pushed it left. The ball went on to meet unceremoniously with the left upright and fall harmlessly to the endzone turf. (More on hitting uprights and crossbars later).

That’s three field goals, at least two of which could be described as chipshots, that Penn missed in a three-point ballgame. At the end of last season, all the Quaker fans were decrying the loss of Ivy Player of the Year quarterback Mike Mitchell, yet few if any showed the same despair over the loss of Ivy first-team place kicker Peter Veldman. Not to take anything away from the job Mitchell did at Penn, but good quarterbacks are relatively common in the Ivies; however, good kickers seem to be incredibly difficult to come by.

Unlike Penn, Princeton was lucky enough not to have to learn the lesson the hard way. Tiger kicker Derek Javarone missed field-goals of 31 and 35 yards in the first half, before finally nailing a 27 yarder in the third quarter. In the interest of full disclosure, it’s important to add that San Diego’s kicker John Koker missed one of his two attempts, but it doesn’t look so bad when the miss comes from 45 yards out and the make from 46.

And then there’s the team that took the hardest hit of all.

As Brown trotted off the field at halftime with a 31-10 lead, few people seemed to remember the scoring drive that wasn’t. Early in the second quarter, the Bears drove down inside the Harvard 10-yard line, poised to add to its already hefty 21-3 lead. But the Crimson forced a Brown field-goal attempt, and freshman kicker Steve Morgan proceeded to boot his first collegiate try off the right upright and the crossbar, before the ball fell to the earth on the endzone side of the posts. That’s right—an upright and a crossbar. Even if it would have gone through I don’t think it would have counted, because I’m pretty sure you have to call that one.

Morgan made his next two from just over PAT distance, but went on to pull the potential game-winning field goal wide left with just over three minutes remaining.

That’s 2-for-4 on the afternoon, with the longest attempt coming from 30 yards. No wonder Brown coach Phil Estes only sent the kicking unit out onto the field four times last year. (In case you were wondering, they converted a grand total of zero of those attempts.)

Lucky for Harvard, coach Tim Murphy figured out the necessity of having a solid kicker a year ago. Tired of going for fourth-and-tens on the opponents 15 yard line and having to face reporters armed solely with the statement, “I’d be less than honest if I said I had any faith in our kicking unit,” Murphy went out in offseason and rectified the situation.

Enter freshman Matt Schindel. Schindel quietly nailed a 34-yard field goal and a 22 yarder in the second half to remain perfect on the season (4-for-4). For his efforts, he was named Ivy Rookie of the Week.

Ivy Rookie of the Week for making two chipshots that the Hershey’s Kick For A Million contestant would have even thought were a breeze. I mean he has to nail it from 50 out: move him in 16 to 28 yards, and he’d be a lock for the big payday.

Oh, by the way, if you see that Hershey’s guy on the street, you might want to inform him that there are a few Ivy League schools that would be interested in his services.

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.