5 college football field goals that were longer than Ryan Fitzgerald's 59-yarder
College football is already buzzing in Week 0 over Florida State's Ryan Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald ended the first half of Florida State's game with Georgia Tech by booting a 59-yard field goal. But Fitzgerald's monster kick isn't the longest of college field goals.
Navigating the college record book on long field goals is a labyrinth. Some records consider only kicks without a tee (which was legal for years), while other consider particular levels of play. Instead of fixating on how to classify, here are five kicks that were even longer than Fitzgerald's.
5 longer college field goals than Ryan Fitzgerald's 59 yarder
Ove Johansson, 69 yards
Yes, that number is right.
Kicking for Abilene Christian against East Texas State in 1976, Johansson had a still wind, kicked off a tee, but hit a field goal for the record books.
Steve Little, 67 yards
The standout Arkansas kicker proved that it wasn't only the small college guys who could boot kicks from long range. Playing in 1977 against Texas — whose own kicker, Russell Erxleben, also hit a 67-yard field goal — Little hit his long-distance bomb in a rivalry game. That took some courage!
Martin Gramatica, 65 yards
Gramatica was a legendary big-legged kicker. When he connected on a 65-yard try in 1998, he made history. While some kickers made longer field goals, Gramatica set the record for the longest NCAA field goal without a kicking tee, which had been outlawed by that time.
Harrison Mevis, 61 yards
It's not just long-ago players who made big field goals. Consider Mevis, an outstanding Missouri kicker who had a game resting on his toe. Missouri was playing No. 15 Kansas State, with the game tied at 27 before a late drive left the Tigers close, but not quite in field-goal range.
Well, it was not quite field-goal range for normal kickers. For Mevis? Coach Eli Drinkwitz called for a 61-yard attempt. The rest was history.
Tony Franklin, 65 and 64 yards
Yes, Tony Franklin had a tee. But in the 1977 Sun Bowl, Franklin connected on two 60-plus-yard field goals in the same game. Franklin shocked Baylor when he hit two bombs for Texas A&M. The other kickers on this list are celebrated for one amazing kick. But it's hard to imagine that anybody will best Franklin on two kicks in one game.
Which long field goals do you remember? Share your thoughts in our comments section!