As Auburn fans say, one second is sometimes all you need.
In the 2019 edition of the Iron Bowl, Auburn just needed one second to make another momentum-changing play. This time, the play may not have been as theatrical as Chris Davis’s Kick Six return in 2013 but Anders Carlson’s 52-yard field goal helped Auburn turn the tides of momentum going into halftime.
The “whistle kick,” as it was later referred to by Carlson, was the subject of controversy as it occurred on the field. The play was later explained by SEC Network rules analyst Matt Austin.
“If there’s only two seconds or less, there’s only to be one more play no matter what,” Austin said on an SEC Network segment. “You come up, you snap the ball, you’ve got to run a play. If you spike it, the game’s over. So, two seconds or less, we’ve got to run a play. Three, you can try and spike it and try and get another play.”
Auburn being allowed to attempt the 52-yard field try was the correct call according to Austin.
“The officials did everything the right way,” Austin continued. “When they saw the receiver was down and it was a first down, they stopped the clock.”
Austin did acknowledge that there is a human factor in stopping the clock with the officials and timekeeper needing to work together. This can result in sometimes an additional second or two either being taken off or added.
While the officials looked at the replay to see if a second should be added back to the clock, Carlson was facing the prospects of his first 50-plus-yard field goal attempt of the year.
During the 2018 season, Carlson struggled on 50-plus-yard field goal attempts, going 2-of-9 from that distance. On Saturday, Carlson’s 52-yard attempt was his first try in a game from that distance in over a year.
The redshirt sophomore was not discouraged by his previous lack of success from 50-plus-yards or the quick nature of the field goal attempt, as it was something that Auburn works on frequently.
“I mean that’s something we practice so much," Carlson said. "We call it whistle kick. We were ready for it and I’m glad we got a chance.”
Carlson was determined to attempt the kick, and while the refs watched the replay to see if the second should be added or not, he got his snapper and holder ready to go as the kick would need to be attempted as soon as the whistle was blown by the referee.
“I just noticed the situation: no timeouts,” Carlson said. “I told my holder and snapper, ‘Get ready for whistle kick.’ It happened the way it did, the whole field goal unit was ready and we ran out there and I don’t know what happened, a timeout or flag or whatever, but turned that we had some time just to talk through it as well and once that whistle was blown we snapped and did what we did.”
The “whistle kick” not only helped Auburn cut the Alabama lead to four, but the field goal make tied Auburn’s record for the longest field goal in Iron Bowl history — a record he now shares with his brother Daniel (2016) and Al Del Greco (1980).
Following the 52-yard field goal make, Carlson finished the second half with field-goal makes from 43 yards and 44 yards. The sophomore kicker finished the game 4-for-4 on the day and is the first kicker in college football this season to make four field goals in a single game from a distance of 40 yards or longer.
Fans may see Carlson’s kick as a big swing of momentum to help Auburn defeat Alabama 48-45. The humble redshirt sophomore only sees his kick as a small part of a much larger team victory.
“Like I said, I played a small part in this game,” Carlson said. “I just did my job and the rest of the guys did their job and man it feels incredible coming out with a win.”
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