TicketsBy Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI – Andrew Gantz's first kick in nearly a year was straight and true for an extra point. So was his second.
Things didn't go so well for Gantz after that in the University of Cincinnati's season-opening victory over Austin Peay last Saturday. He missed a 26-yard field goal with 8:28 left in the third quarter and had another extra point attempt hit off the upright.
It wasn't the way Gantz wanted to celebrate his return to the field after missing most of last season with an injury.
"Obviously that wasn't in my plan for the past year thinking about coming back out there and missing a chip shot that I've hit probably a million times," Gantz said, "but things happen sometimes. You've just to move on. You can't dwell on it. You can't go to bed at night thinking, 'I wish I could get that thing back' because you can't. It doesn't matter anymore."
Gantz a senior from Centerville High School near Dayton, has every reason to believe he'll produce better results this Saturday when the Bearcats play at No. 8 Michigan. He was a second-team American Athletic Conference selection in 2015 for the second straight year and in 2014 was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award that goes to the nation's top kicker.
But last year was one to forget for Gantz. He made every kick he attempted – two field goals and seven extra points – but was limited to just two games due to a torn muscle in the upper part of his right leg. His last kick before Saturday was a 37-yard field goal on Sept. 15 against No. 6 Houston with four seconds left in the first half that pulled the Bearcats into a halftime tie.
The Cougars dominated the second half on the way to a 40-16 victory. Gantz didn't know it then, but he was finished for the season.
The UC coaching staff was extra cautious with Gantz during the offseason to make sure he was healthy for this year so that he'd be able to return to his previous form.
"I was just rushing things," Gantz said of his two missed kicks. "It's been a while since I've been in a game. I got kind of laid out on the second extra point so I think I started rushing things after that happened. I should have just slowed myself down out there and just trusted my normal operation.
"I can't remember the last time I missed a field goal like that. At first, I was like, what just happened? But I've been in enough game situations where you get used to it. You've just got to snap and clear. It's over with. So as soon as I'm on the sideline, I get ticked off for a second and the next second, it's like OK, it's done. Get back out there and get ready again."
Despite his less than impressive start to the season, Gantz expects to get back into his normal groove. So does UC head coach Luke Fickell.
"I want those guys to understand that we have an expectation," Fickell said. "We don't expect him to miss those. We're gonna expect him to go back out there today (during practice) and kick 'em and be a lot better. But we're not gonna lose confidence in him. It was his first time really back. He didn't even kick in the spring game."
Gantz seemed unfazed this week by the missed kicks. He's been around long enough to see his share of ups and downs and knows that the worst thing he can do is to dwell on the misses.
"Sometimes that stuff just happens," he said. "It's part of the game, especially as a specialist. You're expected to go out there and be perfect every single time, but sometimes it just doesn't go your way. You just have to move on. I can't wait to go back out there on Saturday and show what I can do."
Like most kickers, Gantz remembers the details of both his successes and failures. He uses them to stay centered.
"I remember my first year of playing as a redshirt freshman when I had to beat out Tony (Miliano)," Gantz said. "I missed a kick at Memphis. It was like my third ever field goal (attempt) and I was two of three and people were wondering why is this kid playing out there? You can't let that stuff affect you. I went out there and I was all-conference and a Lou Groza Award semifinalist. That's my plan again this year."
Gantz noticed the game that Michigan redshirt freshman kicker Quinn Nordic had in his college debut last week. Nordic converted a 55-yard field goal and a 50-yard field goal - four field goals overall – in the Wolverines' 33-17 victory over Florida. But Gantz also saw Nordic missed his last two attempts from 32 yards and 52 yards. That, he said, is the nature of the position.
"He had a great start to his game," Gantz said. "He went four-for-four and then he comes out and misses back-to-back field goals. It shows the thing about specialists is that you can have great times (and not so great times)."
Gantz recalled the game at East Carolina in 2015 when he missed a 44-yard field goal attempt with the game on the line late in the fourth quarter only to get another chance after the UC defense forced a three-and-out. He delivered a 50-yard field goal to win the game as time expired.
"It's real up and down," he said. "You've just got to stay even keeled."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI – Andrew Gantz's first kick in nearly a year was straight and true for an extra point. So was his second.
Things didn't go so well for Gantz after that in the University of Cincinnati's season-opening victory over Austin Peay last Saturday. He missed a 26-yard field goal with 8:28 left in the third quarter and had another extra point attempt hit off the upright.
It wasn't the way Gantz wanted to celebrate his return to the field after missing most of last season with an injury.
"Obviously that wasn't in my plan for the past year thinking about coming back out there and missing a chip shot that I've hit probably a million times," Gantz said, "but things happen sometimes. You've just to move on. You can't dwell on it. You can't go to bed at night thinking, 'I wish I could get that thing back' because you can't. It doesn't matter anymore."
Gantz a senior from Centerville High School near Dayton, has every reason to believe he'll produce better results this Saturday when the Bearcats play at No. 8 Michigan. He was a second-team American Athletic Conference selection in 2015 for the second straight year and in 2014 was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award that goes to the nation's top kicker.
But last year was one to forget for Gantz. He made every kick he attempted – two field goals and seven extra points – but was limited to just two games due to a torn muscle in the upper part of his right leg. His last kick before Saturday was a 37-yard field goal on Sept. 15 against No. 6 Houston with four seconds left in the first half that pulled the Bearcats into a halftime tie.
The Cougars dominated the second half on the way to a 40-16 victory. Gantz didn't know it then, but he was finished for the season.
The UC coaching staff was extra cautious with Gantz during the offseason to make sure he was healthy for this year so that he'd be able to return to his previous form.
"I was just rushing things," Gantz said of his two missed kicks. "It's been a while since I've been in a game. I got kind of laid out on the second extra point so I think I started rushing things after that happened. I should have just slowed myself down out there and just trusted my normal operation.
"I can't remember the last time I missed a field goal like that. At first, I was like, what just happened? But I've been in enough game situations where you get used to it. You've just got to snap and clear. It's over with. So as soon as I'm on the sideline, I get ticked off for a second and the next second, it's like OK, it's done. Get back out there and get ready again."
Despite his less than impressive start to the season, Gantz expects to get back into his normal groove. So does UC head coach Luke Fickell.
"I want those guys to understand that we have an expectation," Fickell said. "We don't expect him to miss those. We're gonna expect him to go back out there today (during practice) and kick 'em and be a lot better. But we're not gonna lose confidence in him. It was his first time really back. He didn't even kick in the spring game."
Gantz seemed unfazed this week by the missed kicks. He's been around long enough to see his share of ups and downs and knows that the worst thing he can do is to dwell on the misses.
"Sometimes that stuff just happens," he said. "It's part of the game, especially as a specialist. You're expected to go out there and be perfect every single time, but sometimes it just doesn't go your way. You just have to move on. I can't wait to go back out there on Saturday and show what I can do."
Like most kickers, Gantz remembers the details of both his successes and failures. He uses them to stay centered.
"I remember my first year of playing as a redshirt freshman when I had to beat out Tony (Miliano)," Gantz said. "I missed a kick at Memphis. It was like my third ever field goal (attempt) and I was two of three and people were wondering why is this kid playing out there? You can't let that stuff affect you. I went out there and I was all-conference and a Lou Groza Award semifinalist. That's my plan again this year."
Gantz noticed the game that Michigan redshirt freshman kicker Quinn Nordic had in his college debut last week. Nordic converted a 55-yard field goal and a 50-yard field goal - four field goals overall – in the Wolverines' 33-17 victory over Florida. But Gantz also saw Nordic missed his last two attempts from 32 yards and 52 yards. That, he said, is the nature of the position.
"He had a great start to his game," Gantz said. "He went four-for-four and then he comes out and misses back-to-back field goals. It shows the thing about specialists is that you can have great times (and not so great times)."
Gantz recalled the game at East Carolina in 2015 when he missed a 44-yard field goal attempt with the game on the line late in the fourth quarter only to get another chance after the UC defense forced a three-and-out. He delivered a 50-yard field goal to win the game as time expired.
"It's real up and down," he said. "You've just got to stay even keeled."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.