Best Special Teams Unit In Oklahoma College Football Belongs To The Cowboys

Which school in Oklahoma has the best kicker in college football?

Every week, college football games are won and lost by kickers. The snap, the hold and the kick are underrated aspects of the game that can cost teams a championship.

Fans of the Sooners this week witnessed it firsthand as OU escaped with a two-point win that wouldn't have been as stressful if a couple of kicks went between the uprights.

This year, in terms of accuracy, the best kicker so far in Oklahoma is the University of Tulsa's Chase Meyer.

Meyer, a 5-foot-10 sophomore from California, is 8/8 on field goals and 20/20 on extra points with a long of 45 yards.

Oklahoma State has experience leading the special teams unit in Stillwater.

Kicker Alex Hale has had his ups and downs as the Cowboys' kicker since 2020, but he is a weapon that OSU should be thankful to have.

Just a few weeks ago, he essentially beat Kansas State by himself with his school-record five made field goals on six attempts (also a school record).

The next week against Kansas, the senior from Australia hit 4/5 field goals in a close game that the Cowboys won, and the Jayhawks struggled to kick.

When he's called upon, he answers and OSU is confident in its kicker. In total, Hale is 17/21 on field goals (81 percent) and 21/21 on extra points. He's 3/3 on kicks of 50 or more yards with a long of 53. In college football, that's a blessing.

Hale has made the second-most field goals in the nation so far this season, according to ESPN stats.

The kicker in Norman, Oklahoma, is tied for 38th in the nation.

Zach Schmit, OU's junior kicker from Oklahoma City, started the 2023 season well but has struggled as of late. It almost cost the Sooners a conference game on Saturday.

Schmit has made 9/13 field goals and 37/37 extra points this year, a respectable but needs-improving 69.2 percent.

As the OU defense stifled UCF's offense, Oklahoma couldn't capitalize on the field position early in the game due to two missed kicks from Schmit. Both were under 50 yards distance.

To make matters worse, UCF's kicker, appropriately named Colton Boomer, drilled three field goals. It had OU fans dreaming of a reliable kicker. (A fan at the OU game also made a kick for free Chick-Fil-A for a year. Ouch.)

What about punting?

The Sooners tested out a new punter against UCF on Saturday, Luke Elzinga, after struggles from Josh Plaster. The Cowboys have used both Hudson Kaak and Wes Pahl.

The ability to consistently flip the field position with a punt when the offense isn't putting drives together is crucial for a defense. Coach Venables showed trust in his defense by opting to punt several times around midfield instead of going for it and potentially setting UCF up with a positive field position.

Elzinga's five punts on Saturday averaged 51.6 yards, according to CFB reference. The other punter, Josh Plaster, had two punts averaging 38 yards against Texas. This season his punts average 40.3 yards. A change had to be made and Venables made that move Saturday. Expect to see Elzinga in on fourth down for Oklahoma from here on out.

In Stillwater, Pahl and Kaak have both had their fair share of punts this season.

Pahl has 20 punts averaging 43.4 yards with one touchback and five pins inside the 20-yard line.

Kaak has kicked 16 times, averaging 40.3 yards per kick with no touchbacks and an impressive 8 pins inside the 20-yard line.

Each could be used for certain situations for Coach Gundy. Pahl can use his strong leg to flip the field if the Cowboys are pinned deep. His long this year is 60 yards.

Then if OSU is in a position to pin an opponent against the endzone, Kaak can come in and do just that.

It's an embarrassment of special teams' riches in Stillwater that Sooners wish they had.