A year after LSU junior kicker Ryan Gaudet missed a critical extra point in last season’s 10-9 loss to Auburn, junior kicker Chris Jackson made two clutch field goals to lift LSU over Auburn 20-17 in overtime in Tiger Stadium on Saturday.
Although Jackson has only made four of his seven field goal attempts this season, the four successful attempts have all come in the second half of the games. Jackson’s three misses have all occurred in first halves.
Jackson made a 44-yard field goal against Auburn with 1 minute, 40 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. He then made a 30-yard field goal in overtime that eventually won the game.
“I enjoyed the opportunity,” Jackson said. “I tried not to think about the time in the game – the pressure and everything like that. I just tried to stay as calm as possible and focused on my job. That’s always been my mindset. I try to be an athlete and not just a kicker, and go out there and try to make plays.”
    Despite the field goal heroics, Jackson’s most notable improvement this season is his punting. Fourteen of his 32 punts have been downed or gone out of bounds inside the 20-yard line. In 50 attempts last season, only 11 punts made it inside the 20-yard line in 50 attempts.
“He’s giving special teams a lot more time,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “That’s benefitted not only Chris but the other kickers and our team’s performance overall. He has really improved in his punting technique. He’s hitting the ball squarely, his drops are clean and he’s turning the ball over a great majority of the time when he’s just kicking in the middle of the field.”
Jackson said the extra time the new staff spends on special teams in practice and in the film room have helped him improve.
“We do all our kicking at the beginning of practice this year,” Jackson said. “We get a lot more time and work a little bit more on
individual things. They put a lot of emphasis on the kicking game. They watch film on it a lot and they really have a good game plan when we’re going into the game.”
Miles and special teams coach Bradley Dale Peveto both said Jackson is capable of putting the defense in position to score with his punts.
“He can kick directionally, and he’s a tremendous advantage for us,” Miles said. “Our gunners go down there with the real anticipation that the pooch punt or the short punt is going to be in a position where they can field it. When you have that, you really add to your defense’s ability to score. That’s great weapon for us.”
The Tigers’ defense has scored twice this season after Jackson’s punt pinned an opponent inside the 5-yard line.
Jackson punted the ball to the 1-yard line against Tennessee. After a rush by Volunteers quarterback Erik Ainge for no gain, middle linebacker Cameron Vaughn pressured Ainge, who threw the ball up for grabs. Strongside linebacker Kenny Hollis intercepted it for a touchdown.
In the Tigers’ game against Vanderbilt, Jackson punted the ball to the 2-yard line. Defensive end Chase Pittman sacked Commodores quarterback Jay Cutler three plays later for a safety.
“We set up a score with our punt team and Chris’ kicks,” Peveto said. “That’s one of the things we stress every week with the team.”
The Tigers are ranked No. 7 in the nation and No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference in net punting at 39.32 yards per punt. Opponents are only averaging 5.8 yards per punt return against LSU.
Jackson is fifth in punting the SEC at 41.8 yards per punt after averaging 40 yards per attempt last season.
Jackson also handles kickoff duties for the Tigers, where he recorded 14 touchbacks in 32 attempts. When opponents get the chance to return a kick, their average starting position has been the 18-yard line.
Contact Clinton Duckworth at [email protected]