Kicking woes have Kansas football considering all options on 4th down

By Matt Tait     Nov 15, 2022

Kansas placekicker Jacob Borcila (83) sets up to boot an extra point against Texas Tech during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Justin Rex)

The kicking game continued to be an issue for the Kansas football program last weekend at Texas Tech, but the Jayhawks have tried to address it.

Kansas coach Lance Leipold said Monday that the team “opened the job back up” two weeks ago in an attempt to solve the team’s place-kicking woes.

Junior kicker Jacob Borcila emerged from that competition as the best man for the job.

“(We) gave other guys opportunities and he came out of that and, a week ago, he goes 3 for 3, so you’re feeling really good about it,” Leipold said.

That feeling was short lived. Borcila, who made 9 of 15 field goals in 12 games in 2021 and 6 of 9 in nine games during 2020, missed two field goals in the loss at Texas Tech, bringing his total to seven makes in 12 attempts so far this season.

“To miss two is highly disappointing,” Leipold said. “There’s times where we’re in a lot different position, momentum-wise, if we make those.”

Leipold said a missed field goal often carries with it the same disappointment of failing to score after getting a turnover on defense.

“It’s a pretty empty feeling,” he said.

To make matters worse, both of Borcila’s misses against Texas Tech hit the right upright, with the banging sound signaling just how close both kicks were to going through.

“OK. That’s really close,” Leipold said. “They’re not shanked. (But) we’ve been highly inconsistent there. That’s a pretty obvious statement.”

In addition to evaluating whether Borcila was the right man for the job, the Jayhawks also have looked elsewhere, considering changes at long snapper and holder to try to get the problem fixed.

Beyond that, the coaching staff analyzes every detail of every kick in practices and games to try to make sure Borcila has every chance to succeed.

On Monday, Leipold listed off the factors they consider.

“It’s a fragile deal, the kicking world. It always has been,” Leipold said. “(We) watch approach, plant steps, follow through, contact points, where it’s held, timing, left hash, right hash, where it’s been, what’s the issue. You try to do them all.”

With field goals anything but automatic for Kansas no matter how far from the goalposts the ball is spotted, Leipold said the team’s recent kicking struggles has left the KU coaches thinking a little differently about what to do on fourth down.

“It definitely does,” Leipold said. “And Jacob knows that. Going for it on fourth down has changed a lot in football. And when you’re not exactly where you want to be in the field goal game, it’s probably going to change it more.”

While that approach is impacted by down and distance and the game script, Leipold said the biggest thing the Jayhawks are hoping for is Borcila to power through his slump.

“When you have to go out there, you have to show confidence and you have to show belief,” Leipold said. “He’s shown the ability to do it. It just hasn’t been at the consistent enough level for us right now.”

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.