In their childhood, hundreds of thousands of kids dream of kicking a game-winning field goal to give their team a moment that they’ll never forget. Yet in reality, only few get to do it.
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So when Auburn kicker Alex McPherson trotted onto Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium with just three seconds on the clock on Saturday night, he was actually living in a dream he had as a little kid.
And when the ball went through the uprights and the faithful in orange and blue erupted, that dream became true.
“Honestly I was like, 'Did that just happen?'” said Alex McPherson. “It's kind of the moments you dream of since you were a little kid. That was my first game-winning field goal attempt, so it's awesome to knock it down and do that for this team.”
The Tigers and Alex Golesh strolled into Athens, Georgia as 19.5-point underdogs and unranked, having not beaten the Georgia Bulldogs since 2017 and not beaten them in Athens since 2005.
After trailing 14-0 to start the game and seeing the Bulldogs come back to tie it at 24-24 in the fourth quarter, Auburn drove down the field after recovering a fumble to set up the game-winning kick.
From 34 yards out in between the hashes, McPherson knocked it through, marking the second-straight week an unranked team has defeated the No. 1 team and a win that many will never forget.
“You've been hearing my whole five years that we've never beat Georgia, at home since 2005, I think,” McPherson said. “And we've never beat them my entire time here, even at home. And to be able to do that, No. 1 team on the road in their home stadium, put them out. It was just such a great feeling, and like I said, I'm so proud for this university, for this program, to be a part of this.”
McPherson’s journey has been defined by moments of severe adversity. He was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in spring 2024, ultimately having to have his large intestine removed, as well as part of his colon. In August 2025, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Both hardships put his football career in jeopardy.
His return to the field though since the days of his toughest battles has been a story that stormed the landscape of college football, and that return now has a defining moment to go with it.
“That young man—a young man who's married and has lived more life than a lot of people. And that kid's been on so many hospital beds to get to this moment. I'm so proud of him,” said Head Coach Alex Golesh. “Gave him the game ball. He's earned that opportunity, but that's how he comes to work every day. That's how he approaches his teammates. He's a leader. Man, couldn't have happened to a better human being. But that's how he practices. That's how he prepares. That's how he lives his life. He's a special human being.”
Golesh and McPherson shared a short moment just after the game, but that moment was one of simply indescribable emotions.
Prior to his postgame interview on the field with ESPN’s Taylor McGregor, Golesh and McPherson embraced, with the head coach simply hugging his kicker and both of them having wide smiles on their faces.
With all of the chaos that has surrounded the Tigers program in the last five years leading up to this time, a lot happened in the change of leadership after the 2025 season. However, Golesh took a chance on McPherson to keep his spot, and the outcome of that trust showed as the sun was setting in Athens.
“Me and AG have been building that relationship since he got here,” McPherson said. “He took a chance on me to keep me, and I really trusted him and believed in him and what he was bringing to the table here at Auburn. I'm just so blessed to have him and I think the university is too. It was just a great moment just to celebrate with him and kind of give him that win and help the team out. That's all I was hoping for.”
Even being iced by Kirby Smart in the waning moments before the kick, McPherson kept his composure. The rest is now history.
When the kicker from Fort Payne thinks back on it, this is his favorite moment of his college career so far, one that was simply one of those moments that he dreamt of as a kid.
“I think this has got to be number one,” McPherson said. “I mean, we've never had a win like this. For me personally, I've never gotten to do anything like this, and I'm just honored.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
