FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino didn’t witness Matthew Shipley nail 51-yard and 50-yard field goals during game-winning, two-minute drills that wrapped up camp scrimmages.
“I don’t watch the kicker,” Petrino admitted. “We just decided not to focus on kickers after what happened last year.
“I don’t watch them at all—not in practice, not anywhere. I just ask, ‘Did he make it?’ And they say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ and that’s all I know about kicking.”
Petrino’s reluctance to watch field goals stems from his one season at Texas A&M in 2023 as offensive coordinator under Coach Jimbo Fisher.
The overall stats look decent, with Aggies kicker Randy Bond making 26 of 35 field goals at a 74.3% success rate. However, three of Bond’s kicks were blocked, including key attempts in losses to Ole Miss and Alabama.
The Rebels secured a 38-35 victory when Bond’s 47-yard field goal attempt was blocked on the final play of the game.
Alabama’s 26-20 win was also influenced by a block of Bond’s 41-yard attempt with 8:55 remaining in the fourth quarter, preventing the Aggies from closing the gap to 24-20. After Alabama extended their lead to 26-17 with a safety, Fisher decided to have Bond kick a 20-yard field goal, bringing the score to 26-20 with 2:11 left.
Had Bond made the earlier attempt, the Aggies might have trailed 26-20 when they faced a fourth-and-goal at Alabama’s 2-yard line, potentially opting for a game-winning touchdown instead of a field goal.
Alabama then ran out the clock after the Aggies cut the lead to 26-20.
Bond missed two field goals against Arkansas from 49 and 48 yards, but it didn’t impact the Aggies in their 34-22 victory. He successfully converted from 42 and 34 yards against the Razorbacks.
Petrino hasn’t always had negative experiences with field goal kickers.
In Petrino’s final two seasons as Arkansas head coach from 2010-11, Zach Hocker made 37 of 46 field goal attempts for an 80.4% accuracy. Hocker ended his career with a 61 of 79 record (.772) and was the Razorbacks’ field goal accuracy leader for six years until Connor Limpert (.786) surpassed him in 2019, with Cam Little (.828) eventually taking the lead last season.
During Petrino’s tenure at Louisville from 2004-06, Art Carmody made 47 of 56 field goals, including 21 of 25 in 2006, earning the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker.
“I’ve been around some great kickers,” Petrino noted. “We had the Lou Groza winner, Art Carmody, at Louisville, and we had a solid kicker here at Arkansas.
“Last year’s experience made me stop watching. I don’t watch practice, and I hope they perform well in games.
“But I do know this: When it’s a two-minute drive, we’re aiming to score a touchdown.”