Senior kicker Alex McPherson is writing one of the best stories in Auburn football history. After battling back from two separate health issues, the Fort Payne, Alabama native just kicked his second game-winning field goal of the season.
With 33 seconds left, McPherson banged a 43-yarder that put the Tigers up for good against Arkansas in a 26-23 victory.
He talked about what it has meant to be the difference in two of Auburn’s five wins this year.
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“It's awesome,” McPherson said. “It's definitely a cool feeling, not one you get to experience a lot of times, but having two this year has been awesome.”
The game was a rollercoaster, not only for the Auburn offense, but for McPherson as well.
Early in the third quarter, Byrum Brown found Chas Nimrod to make the score 10-9. McPherson’s extra point was missed off the upright.
He talked about being able to shake that off when the team needed him later in the game.
“I just went back to what I was doing,” McPherson said. “You know, they called on me, and we went out there and executed it, and that's all you can do, really. You can't really get the kick back, you know.”
His other game winning kick came on October 17th against No. 1 Georgia, as time expired, in Athens.
McPherson did not feel any more pressure with this attempt though than he did in the last moment.
“I think they're about the same,” McPherson said. “You try to treat every kick as it's the same, and it's not any bigger than the other, and that's pretty much how I handle it.”
After the game, Head Coach Alex Golesh said he does not really talk to McPherson before a kick. Golesh did however say he does his best to distract McPherson all the time in practice.
McPherson shared his routine during games, as well as provided more insight to his head coach’s practice distractions.
“I pretty much stay on the other side of the field, kind of away from everybody,” McPherson said. “Not that I don't want to talk to anybody, just kind of how I process things. And, yeah, he (Golesh) doesn't really mess with me during games. I kind of go out there and do my thing. But, you know, during practice, he likes to, you know, throw water bottles on me and do things like that.”
McPherson is the first kicker since Wes Byrum in 2010 to kick multiple game-winning field goals in the same season.
McPherson’s next opportunity to add to his legend is against Mississippi State this Saturday. The Tigers and Bulldogs square off at 11 a.m. CST at Davis Wade Stadium.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
