Tag: Parker Lewis

Top three kickers in the Big Ten for 2023

Big things are expected of Parker Lewis, but does he make the list of top kickers? #GoBucks #B1G

The Big Ten is usually fairly strong in the kicking department, but not this season as there are more than a few new faces. All three of the players chosen for this list are arguable and you could move them around as you see fit. I wouldn’t argue much, but there is some big-time potential on this list.

It is tough to discuss special teams without Iowa, so its kicker was an obvious selection and Ohio State is expecting big things from its transfer from USC. The last selection was a consistent leg from Illinois that deserves more recognition. That’s enough of a preview, let’s dive into the top three kickers in the Big Ten.

Ohio State adds kicker from USC in transfer portal

Former USC kicker Parker Lewis has committed to Ohio State via the transfer portal

The Ohio State football team got some good news today when it picked up a commitment from transfer kicker Parker Lewis. Lewis has spent the last two seasons on the west coast at USC where he won the starting job as a freshman in 2020.

Of course, the Buckeyes have starter Noah Ruggles coming back for one more year. Ruggles was absent for spring practices but is expected to return in time for the fall season.

Lewis made some waves when he attended the OSU spring game, making a comment along the lines of Ohio State having more fans for its annual scrimmage than USC had for most regular-season home games.

Parker must have liked what he saw in Columbus, so much so that he is willing to wait his turn until Ruggles graduates. Jake Seibert is also still on the team who was the No. 2 ranked kicker in the country from the 2020 class. Parker comes from the same class and was the No. 7 ranked kicker in the class.

Needless to say, Ohio State looks to be in good shape when it comes to the next kicker after Ruggles departs.

[mm-video type=video id=01g1kw41at87t4d82p6t playlist_id=01eqbz0qtnjg5x7tc8 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g1kw41at87t4d82p6t/01g1kw41at87t4d82p6t-66bb15c2f328d1b907be59918d21fa96.jpg]

[listicle id=70436]

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.

Top available college football transfer portal specialists

Here are the top five available transfer portal specialists #Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes appear to be set at both kicker and punter with Noah Ruggles having another year of eligibility available and Jesse Mirco having three years left. Ruggles had a phenomenal season, but it is always rare for specialists to declare for the NFL Draft early.

It is still interesting to take a peak at what is available in this day and age of college football free agency. Ruggles was a transfer from North Carolina and shocked a number of people by beating out Jake Seibert. It would be unlikely that Ohio State dives in again this off-season, but we have seen weirder things happen. The following are the top five available specialists in the transfer portal so far for the 2021-2022 offseason.

Notre Dame vs. USC: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

Little has changed with this rivalry, and that’s a good thing.

Rivalries are when you really find out about your team. This surely was on the minds of both Notre Dame and USC ahead of Saturday’s game at Notre Dame Stadium. In the end, we saw both teams for what they were. It was Notre Dame walking out with a 31-16 victory.

The Trojans (3-4) finished what they started late in the third quarter when Keontay Ingram scored his team’s first touchdown on the second play of the quarter. There was little reason for concern at that point as the Irish (6-1) still had a two-score lead. When they marched into Trojans territory, a response to that touchdown appeared to be in order. Instead, Chris Steele took away a pass that would have set the Irish up in the red zone.

The Trojans immediately took advantage of the turnover when Kedon Slovis completed a 44-yard pass to Drake London on the first play of the possession. There was little trouble reaching the end zone after that, which happened on a 3-yard run from Darwin Barlow. However, Parker Lewis missed the extra-point kick. That could have made things interesting but for what followed.

Rather than stay disciplined, the Trojans’ defense committed a pair of 15-yard penalties. It was a particularly bad time to take them because Kyren Williams continued to add to what already had been a great night for him. Ironically, it was Tyler Buchner who finished the drive off with a 3-yard touchdown run. So much for a late surprise from the visitors.

All that was left for the defense was for Isaiah Foskey to force a fumble on a sack of Slovis on fourth down and for TaRiq Bracy to recover it. The Irish were deep in Trojans’ territory after that, but they didn’t need to score again. Just take the win and look forward to North Carolina.

Notre Dame vs. USC: Third-Quarter Analysis

Victory is in sight…we think.

If Notre Dame wins this game, it can thank USC for not taking advantage of numerous opportunities. There were stretches in which both teams looked impressive in the third quarter. Even so, this game should be much closer than it is. Instead, the Irish have a 24-3 lead.

The Trojans got the ball to begin the second half and really were in business after Kedon Slovis’ 30-yard pass to Malcolm Epps. The ball now was at the Irish’s 25-yard line, and that’s where it would stay. The Trojans nearly caught a break when D.J. Brown, subbing for the injured Kyle Hamilton, was flagged for targeting and then vindicated by the obligatory replay review. Parker Lewis promptly missed a 42-yard field goal, so both kickers have had their moments of shame now.

After the teams traded punts, it was the Irish’s turn to have a lengthy drive. Kyren Williams put the offense in business with a 38-yard run to the Trojans’ 26. The run continued to be the Irish’s weapon of choice for the rest of the possession, and it paid off. Aided by some Trojans penalties, the Irish added onto their lead with Williams needing only a single yard for his second touchdown of the game.

The Trojans had the quarter’s final possession and used a combination of runs and passes to get into Irish territory quickly. By the time the clock hit zero, they were right on the cusp of scoring their first touchdown. Stay tuned to see if it happens.

Notre Dame vs. USC: Second-Quarter Analysis

Things still are going all right, at least to a point.

Much like the first quarter, the second quarter was good for Notre Dame but also could have gone a lot better. There should be some greater distance between it and USC, but that’s not how it turned out. Still, the Irish gladly will take a 17-3 lead into halftime.

On the first play of the quarter, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa tipped a Kedon Slovis pass that ended up in the hands of Bo Bauer, who returned it 79 yards to the Trojans’ 4-yard line. A touchdown appeared to be in the books, but Jack Coan was unable to follow two short runs by the Irish with a complete pass, even as he had all the time in the world to throw and run the ball himself. Although Jonathan Doerer salvaged the drive with a 21-yard field goal, the crowd at Notre Dame Stadium voiced that it was not pleased with what it had just witnessed.

With Kyle Hamilton questionable to return after suffering a knee injury late in the first quarter, the Trojans looked to take advantage of his absence. Slovis continually called Drake London’s number, and the Trojans were able to get into the red zone with relative ease, though they were aided by a questionable roughing the passer call against JD Bertrand. With a touchdown in sight, Slovis instead threw a couple of incomplete passes. Parker Lewis kicked a 33-yard field goal to get the Trojans on the board.

Coan began the Irish’s next drive with a 29-yard pass to Lorenzo Styles, putting the offense in Trojans territory right off the bat. Another completion to Styles, a 12-yard run by Kyren Williams, and 16-yard pass to Michael Mayer gave the Irish a first-and-goal in only three minutes of possession. Williams scored on a 5-yard run two plays later, though it took a lengthy replay review to confirm it.

The Trojans moved the ball nicely again on their final drive of the first half. They even converted on fourth down not far across midfield. However, they didn’t have any timeouts by then, and the clock ran out before they were able to spike the ball in field-goal range. Hey, the Irish will take whatever gifts they can get.

USC’s KICKER was ejected for targeting on the first play of the game

Yes, you read that right, the kicker.

College football has seen a lot of targeting calls over the years, but nothing comes close to this.

The start of USC versus Stanford seemed about what you’d expect from a PAC-12 game. Kicker Parker Lewis lined up for the opening kickoff and away we went on Saturday evening.

Except, bizarrely, Lewis was ejected for targeting on the play after helping make the tackle on the Stanford runner. Yes, that’s right, USC’s starting kicker was ejected six seconds into the game for targeting on an opposing player, meaning the Trojans were without their kicker for the rest of the game.

It’s absolutely a surreal scene, made even better by Lewis’ dumbfounded expression on the sideline upon learning he was ejected.

Given the… controversial nature of the targeting rule, I will make no judgements here as to whether this was within the spirit of the rule. Lewis does make contact with the runner with the crown of his helmet, however, which is the main reason why he was ejected here.

Still, of all people, the referees eject the KICKER from a game? Can’t say we’ve seen that before.

[mm-video type=video id=01fekz5tra4brv3kmfbs playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fekz5tra4brv3kmfbs/01fekz5tra4brv3kmfbs-a8116d47caa35a5d7d271ba8a3393e28.jpg]

[listicle id=1105544]

USC kicker Parker Lewis ejected for targeting on first play vs. Stanford

USC kicker Parker Lewis was ejected for targeting on the Trojans’ first play against the Stanford Cardinal.

For whatever reason, USC kicker Parker Lewis wears jersey number 48, and on the opening play against Stanford, perhaps he thought he was a linebacker. The sophomore kicker from Phoenix booted the ball to the Stanford Cardinal to open Saturday night’s game, and when he tried to tackle returner Nathaniel Peat, who took the ball 27 yards to his own 32-yard line… well, he got busted for what appears to be the dictionary definition of targeting. Lewis led with his helmet, and through the NCAA does not officiate this consistently at all, especially when asked to do so in the hands of #Pac12Refs, the #Pac12Refs got this one right.

The penalty put the ball at the Stanford 47-yard line, and though the Cardinal didn’t score on that drive, they got the first touchdown of the game when Peat broke off this 87-yard run with 9:16 left in the first quarter.

As far as we’re aware, Lewis is the first kicker ever ejected under the NCAA’s targeting rules, though Liberty punter Aidan Alves was kicked out of a 2018 game against Army for this boneheaded tackling attempt.

So. As it turns out, Parker Lewis can lose, and let’s be careful out there, you punters and kickers.