Sunday, January 2 Pflugner puts missed kick in perspective
Associated Press
MIAMI -- Ryan Pflugner watched his kick sail barely to the right of the right upright. Behind the goal post, he could see the Michigan band erupt in a victory celebration.
Pflugner collapsed to the ground in dismay. Teammates helped him
to his feet and hugged him, but they could do nothing about his
missed kick.
Michigan 35, Alabama 34.
Pflugner pushed an extra point wide on the final play in overtime.
"Everyone is going to blame me," the senior said. "I missed
the last kick. It came down to an extra point I should have made.
But it's a team game. Everyone probably could have done something
to make it better."
Pflugner was right.
The Alabama defense twice blew a 14-point lead. The offense
failed to score in the fourth quarter. Michigan squandered two
scoring chances in the fourth quarter, but the Crimson Tide failed
to take advantage.
Pflugner went 21-for-25 on extra points during the regular season. Teammates expressed sympathy for their kicker, and running back Shaun Alexander gave him a hug on the field.
"I just wanted to let him know I love him and I felt for him a
lot," Alexander said. "That would be like me fumbling on the last
play of the game."
Michigan scored first in overtime. Alabama's Andrew Zow threw a
21-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Carter, but Pflugner missed the
conversion.
"We're still going to have a smile on our face," Carter said. "We're going to pat him on the back and move on. He did a great job for us all year."
Alabama beat Florida during the regular season in similar
circumstances. The Gators missed an extra point on the final play
in overtime to lose 40-39.
"It's crazy," Alexander said. "Playing this game, you see
missed field goals and missed extra points and you don't know what
to think sometimes."
