Matt Ammendola a Bright Spot for Oklahoma State

It’s been a rough season for Oklahoma State all around. Issues on the offensive line, youthful inefficiencies in the secondary, sub par quarterback play, and a consistently inconsistent special teams.

One of the most disappointing things is, that all of the disappointment and negativity have distracted from one of the bright spots on the team; junior kicker Matt Ammendola.

Smack dab in the middle of a Lou Groza award-worthy season, Ammendola has been fantastic. He’s 11-of-12 on the season with his only miss coming on a 36-yarder against Texas Tech in week four.

That miss ended a 19-make streak that stretched back to last season. Ammendola had a rough start to that sophomore campaign, missing six of his first 18 attempts. But since the Oklahoma game in 2017 he’s connected on 22-of-23 on field goals.

Nationally, Ammendola’s 91.7% field goal percentage ranks 7th in the country, and is one of only four kickers in the country to miss no fewer than one kick while attempting at least 10.

So far, Ammendola’s season is close to another Oklahoma State kicker whose name you may recall, Dan Bailey. The 2010 Lou Groza award winner started that season 15-of-15 before eventually finishing making 27-of-31 field goals and all but two extra points.

There are still five games to go, but unless something drastic happens with the offense, I’m not sure Ammendola will get 31 field goal attempts this season. But there is one thing we do know; the Cowboys can feel pretty good sending their junior kicker out onto the field when the offense is in need of points.