I am trying to find the obscure NCAA Records that you likely are not aware of and then couple it with the school that set the record really not celebrating it. You may know about this record, but you likely don’t. If you do know about this record, awesome, but keep it quiet so you don’t spoil it for anyone else. Sometimes the records are ones you may want to forget ever happened too and this may just be the case for this NCAA record.

I really could see why this team would want to have this NCAA record forgotten. You never want to be associated with a dubious record such as this. Well, I am sorry, you just are unless someone breaks this one, which I doubt a team will be allowed to miss this many field goals ever again. So you could see why neither team mentions this record, but for good reason.

Time to set the scene. First, let me tell you the two teams involved. It’s LSU vs. Florida. That should explain what you are about to learn. You put these two teams together, and something idiotic happens nearly all the time. Someone throws a shoe, someone claims you aren’t tough enough to handle a hurricane, someone gets ran over on 4th down over and over. The Tebow jump pass, the PUNTER GETS A TAUNTING PENALTY ON A FAKE PUNT, and the list goes on and on and on.

We go back in time to November 25, 1972, in the Swamp. LSU enters the Swamp ranked 8th in the Nation with a record of 8-1, and the Tigers only loss till this point was against #2 Alabama. Florida enters the game with a record of 4-4. Perfect Sickos conditions for what was about to happen in this game. Oh! Mother Nature just added some extra flavor here too!

“Torrential downpour,” recalled Gator Radio Network analyst Lee McGriff, a standout wide receiver on that '72 squad. “Worst I've ever seen Florida Field. You couldn't barely see the other team's sidelines.”

I’ll tell you the record for most field goals attempted in a single game by one team. That total is nine field goals attempted by one single team in the game.

Now I’ll tell you LSU was close to that record, and they attempted eight in this game. How many field goals do you think the Tigers tried and missed in this game? Five? Six?

It was SEVEN; in a “torrential downpour,” LSU tried EIGHT field goals and made ONE. 

The game was an incredible slog through the mud, and LSU didn’t just put all the kicking on one kicker here. They had two kickers contribute to this record, which makes sense; I doubt LSU Head Coach Charles McClendon would have sent out the same kicker eight times.

After LSU fumbled on the Florida one-yard line on their opening drive, their next chance to score came later in the first quarter. Up first was LSU kicker Rusty Jackson.

Rusty didn’t fare so well in the monsoon-like conditions. He missed a 37-yarder and then missed another 37-yarder. Starting 0-2 on the day.

After those two missed by Rusty Jackson, Coach McClendon turned to another kicker by the name of Juan Roca, a Honduran-born soccer-style kicker, to see if he fared better in the monsoon-like Swamp conditions.

Juan didn’t do too well either and in the swampy wet field conditions, kicking seemed quite impossible. Juan missed field goals of 38, 40, 46 and 35 yards.

LSU finally took a lead in the game 3-0 with 10:35 remaining in the 3rd quarter when Juan Rojas made his only field goal of the day from 45 yards out! Improbably making one of the longest attempted on the day.

Florida got all the way down to into LSU territory to attempt a 35-yard field goal with 2:08 left in the fourth quarter. The weather was described as “a constant monsoon in front of 35,500 fans.”

Florida Kicker John Williams said "I kept my kicking shoe totally dry throughout the game."

"I had a bag over my foot. Dickey looked at me and motioned to go kick it. He did it with a confidence. I hopped across the field, so my shoe wouldn't touch the ground." Here’s a story about the Florida kicker too. It’s a fantastic read. (Also, Williams was not only the first black kicker in Florida history, but also the first in Southeastern Conference lore.)

"I couldn't start to think, because I would be letting bad thoughts take over," Williams said. "One of the best teams in the country had missed seven field goals. It was like playing a football game on the St. Johns River. I would've thought, 'Oh, Lord, what am I facing?'

Williams nailed the kick and tied the game up at 3-3.

However, LSU would get two more shots…

LSU’s Roca missed a 44-yarder for the win with 25 seconds left, but LSU recovered the blocked field goal.

Then Coach McClendon sent out a rusty Rutsy Jackson, who hadn’t attempted a kick since early in the 2nd quarter, to try to win the game with a few seconds left.

Rusty Jackson attempted the game-winning 32-yarder but sailed wide right.

• LSU Kicker Juan Roca went 1-5 on the day

• LSU Kicker Rusty Jackson went 0-3 on the day.

• LSU Total 1-8 on the Day with 7 Missed Field Goals an NCAA Record.

I just love how they set this record in a mad scramble to win the game on two missed field goal attempts in the final minute of the game.

THEN THEY HAD A BRAWL AT THE 50 YARD LINE AFTER THE GAME ENDED!!!

LSU and Florida tied 3-3 and then had a brawl in a monsoon, adding another great Sickos chapter of a strange rivalry between conference mates.

LSU fans may not love it, but hey, at least it was a tie and not a loss???

Maybe the LSU kickers should have kept a bag over their foot too???

Check out our sponsors too!

Let Us Do The Heavy Lifting

Students have bigger things to worry about right now than moving, so don't bother with buying boxes, renting trucks, or coordinating move out logistics.

Here’s the deal:

• We bring boxes to your students

• We pick up everything from their room

• We keep it safe all summer

• We deliver it to their new place next semester, on or off campus

Storage Scholars handles everything you need to transition into summer break without breaking the bank.

Learn More