College Football

Jayden Fielding Achieves Redemption with Championship-Clinching Kick, Strong Finish to Season in College Football Playoff

Jayden Fielding’s 2024 season could have been remembered for the kicks he didn’t make. Instead, Fielding ended the season making the field goal that clinched a national championship for the Buckeyes.

Fielding’s struggles in The Game on Nov. 30 were one of the biggest reasons why Ohio State lost to Michigan for the fourth straight year. He went just 1-for-3 on field goals against the Wolverines, missing kicks from just 38 and 34 yards out in the second and third quarters after making a 29-yard kick in the first quarter. Those six points made all the difference in the game’s outcome as Ohio State lost 13-10.

There were questions after that game about whether Fielding would even remain Ohio State’s kicker for the College Football Playoff, as Ryan Day said in the week leading up to OSU’s first-round CFP game against Tennessee that the coaching staff was still weighing whether to go with Fielding or walk-on Austin Snyder. Ohio State also began having conversations with some kickers in the transfer portal as it considered the possibility of bringing in a new kicker for 2025.

The Tennessee game only increased the noise around Fielding as he came up short on his lone field goal attempt of the game, albeit a 55-yard attempt at the end of the first half that would have been difficult for any kicker to make on a cold, windy December day in Ohio Stadium. But Ohio State stuck with Fielding for the rest of the CFP, and its faith in its kicker was rewarded in the end.

Fielding delivered both times he was called upon in the CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl against Oregon, making field goals from 46 and 36 yards out in the second quarter. He wasn’t asked to kick any field goals in the CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl against Texas. But he delivered again when called upon twice in the national championship game against Notre Dame.

First, Fielding drilled a 46-yard field goal – his third of the season from that distance to tie his season-high – to extend Ohio State’s lead to 31-7 in the third quarter. 

Then, after a pair of touchdowns and 2-point conversions by Notre Dame cut Ohio State’s lead to 31-23, Ohio State turned to Fielding again to put the national championship on ice. Fielding knocked a 33-yard field goal between the uprights to give Ohio State a two-score lead with just 26 seconds left to play, prompting Fielding and his teammates to erupt in celebration.

Fielding, who was watching from the sideline in the same stadium two years earlier when Ohio State’s season ended in the College Football Playoff semifinals with Noah Ruggles missing a 50-yard field goal attempt wide left, said he felt “the biggest relief of my life” when he made the final kick.

“I just started crying, because I kind of knew that was the game,” Fielding told Eleven Warriors after the game.

Brandon Inniss and Jayden Fielding

Brandon Inniss ran on to the field to celebrate with Jayden Fielding after his championship-clinching kick.

Fielding acknowledged that the 2024 season was a “roller-coaster” for him, but he credited his teammates with getting him through the low points by providing constant support – which two of them did even while he was talking to Eleven Warriors in the locker room.

“That’s a fucking GOAT,” one of his fellow specialists said while putting his arm around Fielding. “They’ve been disrespecting him for so fucking long. That’s bullshit.”

“That motherfucker cold, man,” another shouted from his locker. “That motherfucker cold.”

Ohio State defenders JT Tuimoloau and Lathan Ransom also went out of their way to shout out Fielding during their postgame interviews.

“Hats off to Jayden Fielding. After he faced so much adversity after the team up north game, killed it all playoffs,” Ransom said. “He balled. So I’m so happy for him.”

“A lot of people criticized him, but, man, he put his head down and put it to work today,” Tuimoloau said.

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Fielding said leaning on his teammates and his faith enabled him to bounce back from his mistakes and deliver on college football’s biggest stage.

“God is good. I owe it all to my lord and savior Jesus Christ. I owe it to this team,” Fielding said. “They were around me every day. They were out there supporting me. It wouldn’t have been possible without them.”

Life as a kicker often means receiving more criticism for your mistakes than praise for your successes, and that was certainly the case for Fielding in 2024, at least until his championship-game redemption.

While his misses against Michigan drew plenty of attention, he only missed two other field goals for the rest of the season, one being the aforementioned 55-yard attempt. He went a perfect 73-of-73 on extra points. 

Fielding’s kickoffs also drew plenty of scrutiny after he knocked three straight kickoffs out of bounds in Ohio State’s third game of the season against Marshall, but he was strong in that area for the rest of the season, never missing another kickoff out of bounds. He recorded touchbacks on more than 70% of his kickoffs; only 10 of his 102 total kickoffs were returned by the opposing team for a total of just 156 yards.

With his strong finish to the season, Fielding now appears set to remain Ohio State’s kicker in 2025, as the Buckeyes didn’t add a kicker during the winter transfer window. And he’ll go into next season with a new level of self-confidence because of his success in the CFP.

“If I can do it here, why can’t I do it anywhere?” Fielding said in reference to the national championship game.

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