On Friday, Oklahoma took on Alabama in the first round of the College Football Playoff. In the process, history was made courtesy of kicker Tate Sandell.
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Sandell, a junior from Texas, managed to equal a college football record with eight field goals of 50+ yards, per Chris Vannini of The Athletic. As a result, he is 8-for-8 on the season. The Sooners came into the game with a 10-2 record and ranked 8th in the nation. Meanwhile, Alabama had a 10-3 record and was 9th in the country.
In their last matchup, Oklahoma came away victorious 23-21 on Nov. 15. The Sooners are looking for their first win in five CFP appearances. In 2015, the Sooners lost to Clemson in the Orange Bowl during their first CFP game.
Their last appearance was in 2019,, when they lost to LSU in the Peach Bowl.
Overall, Sandell has an 80% field goal conversion rate in collegiate career. Before transferring to Oklahoma, he played at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). His longest field goal was a school record of 54 yards against Memphis on Nov. 2, 2024.
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Additionally, he was recognized as an honorable mention for the All-American Athletic Conference honors.
The previous kickers who held the record
Before Sandell, it was Martin Gramatica of Kansas State in the 1990s who had 14 career 50+ yard field goals. He was followed up by Sebastian Janikowski of Florida State, who had 12 field goals.
Trey Smack of Florida set a school record nine career 50+ field goals and held onto the national single-season record. Meanwhile, Will Reichard of Alabama holds a school record of 10 career 50+ field goals.
Reichard is currently a placekicker for the Minnesota Vikings. Some other record-setting kickers include Jason Hanson of Washington State University and Graham Gano of Florida State University. Hanson finished with 20 from 50+ yards, and Gano led with 5 in a single season in 2008.
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