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LOGAN — Utah State placekicker Dominik Eberle will likely never forget Dec. 29, 2017.
It's the day the 2017 Lou Groza Award runner-up missed four field goals and Utah State ended up losing 26-20 in overtime to New Mexico State in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl.
Nine months later, Eberle got his chance at redemption and rose to the occasion in a huge way. The junior placekicker from Nuremberg, Germany was a perfect 6-for-6 on the night, including a perfect 3-for-3 from 51 yards in Utah State's dominate 60-13 win over New Mexico State.
“Honestly, I didn’t even think of the bowl game," Eberle said. "I saw this as another opportunity to get out. Each kick, I thought: ‘I’m going to hit a kick from this yardage.’ Six-for-six, I would not have believed I would have went that if I was thinking about last year’s game last night.”
Wake Forest's Sam Swank was the last placekicker to hit three field goals of 50 or more yards in a game. He accomplished that feat on Oct. 14, 2006 when he hit from 51, 53, and 53 yards, respectively.
Eberle was a third-team All-American, according to Phil Steele's magazine in 2017 and earned honorable mention All-America honors from SB Nation. He was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, which is awarded annually to the top placekicker in college football. University of Utah's Matt Gay won the award.
Eberle earned first team All-Mountain West honors as he finished the 2017 season a perfect 47-of-47 on extra points and 18-of-24 on field goals. Two games into the 2018 season, Eberle is a perfect 7-of-7 in field goals and 10-of-10 in extra points.
"You can't over-coach him," head coach Matt Wells said. "That kid is a driven young man. He's a great teammate, every one of these guys love him. He owns his performance and all he does is put his head down and work.
"He's a grinder," Wells added, "which is a weird analogy for a kicker, but he's a grinder. Our players know it and that's why you see pure excitement from them."
Eberle should get even more opportunities to add to that total when Utah State hosts FCS opponent Tennessee Tech on Thursday night at Maverik Stadium. The Golden Eagles are giving up over 40 points per game.
Utah State has a weapon in its placekicker and Eberle and the Aggies hope it can be a very special season. Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias
