Blake Craig admits he 'blacked out' before game-winning kick for Missouri

The Missouri Tigers capped off their 2024 season with a win in the Music City Bowl, beating the Iowa Hawkeyes. With that, the Tigers finished the season with 10 wins on the season.

That Music City Bowl came down to a kick with under five minutes left in the game when Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz put faith in his kicker, Blake Craig, to make a 56-yard bomb to take the lead. From the second toe hit leather, it was a kick Craig drilled. He was able to do that, despite blacking out during the game-winning kick, as Craig would admit while speaking to the media after the game.

“I’m going to be completely honest,” Blake Craig said. “I black out when I go out for kicks.”

At that point, Eli Drinkwitz smiled and chimed in a joke about his kicker, laughing as he said, “That explains a lot.”

Blake Craig came to Missouri as a three-star recruit in the Class of 2023, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the seventh-ranked kicker in that recruiting cycle. 2024 saw him take on the role of placekicker for the Tigers. He made 70.6 percent of his field goals and the 56-yard kick ended up being his longest made kick of the season. Prior to that, he struggled at times from longer distances, only making one out of seven kicks from 40-49 yards and six out of nine kicks from 50 or more yards.

Continuing on with his thoughts on the game-winning kick, Blake Craig emphasized that his concern ahead of the kick was making it to send the seniors at Missouri out on the right note.

“Definitely before the kick, I’m thinking about all the seniors and everything like that,” Craig said. “I’m there to do what I do for them, especially in this scenario with their last game, you know what I mean?”

The Missouri Tigers needed everything they could get out of Blake Craig to beat the Iowa Hawkeyes. He ended up making two field goals and three extra points, not missing a kick throughout the game. For a game that was decided by just three points, all of those points were vital.

Now, Eli Drinkwitz will turn his attention to the offseason and preparing the Tigers for the 2025 campaign. One thing it appears he’s not going to need to worry about moving into the offseason is the kicker position. Blake Craig should have that covered at Missouri moving forward.