The Texas football team is getting ready to take on Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, and the Longhorns are fortunate to be here after what happened in the quarterfinals. Texas blew a late 16-point lead against Arizona State, and kicker Bert Auburn missed two field goals at the end of the game that would've put Texas up. One of those attempts was as time expired from inside of 40 yards. Auburn couldn't come through, and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is now thinking about a change at the position.
At this point in the season, you can't take any chances. One mistake, and your season is over. The Texas football team got lucky to survive the Peach Bowl, and they can't afford to leave points off the board against Ohio State. There's a chance that we see a change at kicker in the Cotton Bowl.
“I think ultimately, there's a psychological approach that we've tried to use, and there's obviously the physical approach,” Steve Sarkisian said regarding the kicking situation, according to a post from Anwar Richardson. “And then we'll monitor that thing through pregame and make a decision and go.”
Bert Auburn has been a solid kicker for Texas the past two seasons, but he has struggled this year. In 2022, Auburn finished the year 21/26 on field goals 55/55 on extra points. Last season, Auburn had another pretty good year. He was 29/35 on field goals and 56/56 on extra points. This year, his numbers are down.
So far this season, Auburn is 16/25 on field goals. He is still perfect on extra points which is a positive, but he was over 80% in 2022 and 2023 on field goals. This year, Auburn is hitting his field goals at a 64% rate. That is not where you want to be.
Bert Auburn had been extremely reliable inside of 40 yards coming into the Peach Bowl as he was 4/4 heading into the game, but his game-winning attempt that missed pushed him to 4/5 on the year.
Once you push Auburn beyond those 40-yarders, he has struggled. From 40-49 yards, he is 6/12 on the year, and past 50, he's 0-2. It certainly makes sense that Sarkisian is thinking about making this change.
It doesn't sound like any official changes will be made until right before the game, or at least a decision won't be announced. It will be interesting to see who Texas decides to go with.
Ohio State and Texas will kick off the Cotton Bowl at 7:30 ET on Friday night from AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, and the game will be airing on ESPN. Ohio State is currently favored by 5.5 points.