Indiana Field Goal Kicking Hero Patty McAteer Says He Never Practiced From 60-Yards Before Hitting 60-Yard Field Goal vs Minnesota to Send Game to OT
Classic Curt Cignetti. Don't overwork your players. At Indiana, it's get in, do your job, get out. That's the philosophy. No need for frivolous 60+ yarders during the week. Coach Cig wants all his players, including his kickers, fresh for the weekend. That's why the Hoosiers always show up on Saturday ready to kick some ass... (once the game gets into the final seconds + overtime).
Maybe that's the explanation for Indiana's offense this year. Curt Cignetti has extended his "don't overpractice" philosophy to game day. If his offense wastes needless energy on scoring points in the first 3.9 quarters, it won't be fresh to score immediately in overtime.
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And why burn out your long-distance field goal-kicking hero, Patty McAtee, by kicking frivolous 60-yarders in practice? Or use him at any point earlier in the game, when your "accuracy kicker" is shanking chip shots, and kicking low 50+ yarders that get blocked at the line (because his career long is 49).
Curt Cignetti played it perfectly once again. He saved Patty McAtee's leg for the perfect moment. His leg was so ready that Cignetti didn't even bother to use one of Indiana's 2 timeouts with 13 seconds left, after Charlie Becker caught that pass along the sideline, with more than enough time to move the ball into much more manageable field goal range.
It wasn't necessary. Because Patty McAtee hit from 60. For the first time in his life, apparently. Nice and smooth.