Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008

Clemson vs USC: Will Saturday's game come down to a field goal?

Mark Bucholz: Now that soccer is done, kicker takes time to tee it up

CLEMSON — The honeymoon for Clemson kicker Mark Buchholz was over when he helped send someone else off on one..

Several weeks after booting the game-winning 35-yard field goal last year at USC as time expired, Buchholz returned for a cousin’s wedding on the Columbia campus.

From what Buchholz heard, he caught grief at the rehearsal dinner he didn’t attend.

But he would relish the chance to be the source of such ribbing again.

“If (a game-winner) comes about again this year, it would be a lot of fun,” Buchholz said. “It was a lot of fun last year.”

It wasn’t much fun two years ago for Jad Dean, who missed a 39-yarder that would have tied the score with 13 seconds remaining in a 31-28 defeat.

Clemson’s kickers have decided the past two outcomes in the rivalry, and the Tigers would figure to like their chances at repeating last year’s dramatic victory if left in the hands of Buchholz, who has an uncharacteristically laid-back and confident personality for his position.

Buchholz spent his first three college years as a starting midfielder for Clemson’s soccer team, then became a two-sport athlete last season when he convinced Tommy Bowden he was worth a scholarship.

Buchholz’s first season as the starter was spotty; he made 22 of 36 field goals and appeared to struggle with directional kicks, although 10 of those 14 misses came from 45 yards or longer.

“I knew last year when it was like, ‘What’s a matter, are you fatigued? Blah blah blah,” Buchholz said. “Maybe I was a little bit, but all my kicks were freaking long.”

A full-time football player now that his soccer eligibility has expired, Buchholz’s follow-up season has gone better.

The senior from Alpharetta, Ga., has been efficient and accurate, splitting the uprights on 14 of 17 field goals.

And until the Duke game two weeks ago, he had not tried a field goal longer than 43 yards. Two of his three misses have been 53- and 58-yarders, respectively, the past two games.

“It’s just weird how that goes,” Buchholz said.

Likewise, Buchholz said he feels sore after football workouts now — he did not last year — because he’s not running several miles per soccer game a couple of times each week.

Buchholz professes a disdain for inactivity, which explains why he has filled the void left by soccer with another sport: golf.

After football practices, he typically heads to the practice range located a few hundred yards from the football fields, where Tigers coach Larry Penley allows Buchholz to hit with his players.

One of Buchholz’s good friends was a roommate of Penley’s son, so Buchholz has grown close to several players, including standout Kyle Stanley.

It probably didn’t hurt that Buchholz was already a formidable golfer.

When his seasons ended last spring, Buchholz decided to figure his handicap, and by the end of the summer he had gone from a 6 to a 1.2.

Buchholz expressed scant interest in joining the golf team for the spring, though. His sights are on an NFL tryout.

Another game-winner against USC would be nice, too. A framed photo of last year’s kick is hung on the wall over his futon, although Buchholz suggests its placement is more out of courtesy for the gift’s giver, another of his 43 first cousins.

“I’d rather be where we were at last year and missing all those kicks and be 8-1 than be perfect this year,” Buchholz said.

“I just want to get some more wins. ... I’m hitting the ball well. I’m relaxed out here and just enjoying it. It’s just a kick.”

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