Kicker Brad Craddock kicks off for the Terrapins after a West Virginia safety during the Terps 37-40 loss against West Virginia on Sep 13, 2014 at Capital One field.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Brad Craddock stood on the sideline at Byrd Stadium two years ago and dreaded the situation unfolding before his eyes.
An ugly homecoming contest between the Terrapins football team and N.C. State was drawing to a close. Wolfpack kicker Niklas Sade had connected on a 43-yard field goal with 32 seconds remaining in regulation to give his team a two-point lead. The Terps took over possession with one last shot to win. Craddock, then a freshman kicker, yearned for his team to score a touchdown — anything to prevent the game from coming down to his right leg.
But the Terps drove 60 yards in 26 seconds, setting up a 33-yard attempt for Craddock. The kick clunked off the left upright. The Australian crumpled to the ground in devastation. The Wolfpack hung on for a slim victory.
Craddock waited more than two years for a second chance at a game-winning kick. It came Saturday at Beaver Stadium in the first meeting between Penn State and the Terps in more than two decades. This time, the junior embraced the pressure. And with an announced 103,969 fans coalescing their voices into a thundering roar, Craddock connected on a 43-yard field goal with 51 seconds remaining to key a 20-19 victory.
“That kick, as much as it sucked I missed it, it changed my life in a way. It made me work harder,” Craddock said Saturday. “I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time.”
The game-winner kept Craddock a perfect 14 of 14 on field goals this season. He is the only kicker in the country who’s attempted 12 or more kicks without a miss, making him a front-runner for the Lou Groza Award, given to the country’s top kicker.
However, Craddock’s impact this year has stretched far beyond his achievements on the field. Coach Randy Edsall often praises the junior as one of the team’s most influential role models because of his tireless work ethic — one that has propelled him from timid and inconsistent in 2012 to virtually automatic in 2014.
“How fitting to have, to me, the best kicker in the country, Brad Craddock, hit that field goal at the end,” Edsall said. “Just very fitting for us.”
On Saturday, despite swirling winds and wet conditions, Craddock told Edsall his range was 50 yards from either side of the field — 7 yards less than the school-record 57-yarder he drilled at Byrd Stadium against Ohio State in early October.
As the game wore on and the Terps came back from nine points down to take a 17-16 lead, the chances of a potential game-winning kick became greater.
Then Nittany Lions kicker Sam Ficken connected on a 48-yard field goal with 6:52 left in regulation to give Penn State a brief two-point advantage. Terps holder Michael Tart approached Craddock and delivered a simple message: “It’s us today.”
After the teams traded punts on the next two possessions, the Terps took over at the Penn State 42-yard line — quality field position set up by a 15-yard return from cornerback Will Likely.
Five plays later, Craddock jogged onto the field for a kick two years in the making.
“I wanted it. I wanted to be on the field. I wanted the game to come down to a kick,” Craddock said. “It’s just that mental change.”
Craddock’s teammates mirrored that unwavering belief as they looked on from the sideline.
“He never misses in practice,” linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. said. “So I had confidence, and I’m sure everyone else on the team had confidence.”
During his postgame news conference, Craddock was asked when he first started to think the game could come down to a final kick.
“Last night in the hotel, “ he said with a smirk.
It was a response that only further cemented the kicker’s growth over his three seasons in College Park.
“You realize how much it means to you and the team. You don’t want to let them down; you don’t want to let yourself down,” Craddock said. “I just had to work as hard as I could to be as good as I can.”
