Casey Skowron’s Season of Heroics

You can hate him all you want for missing the game-winning field goal against USC, a field goal that would have propelled the Cats to 6-0 on the season, potentially in the top five of the polls. It was also a field goal that would have had Arizona in the College Football Playoff discussion down the stretch of the season.

Looking back through the season schedule though, Casey Skowron is the reason Arizona is in this position. A top 10 program, Pac-12 South Champions, with a Fiesta Bowl bid.

Let’s start with UTSA, the first road game of the season for the Wildcats. The game came down to UTSA’s final drive, where a kick would have sent the game to overtime, but with a bonehead play for quarterback Tucker Carter and a great read from safety Jared Tevis, the Wildcats came out with a win.

It was a frustrating game, where Arizona could not convert on third down, something we saw too many times this season. Stalled drives meant field goals. Skowron went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts that day, getting it through the uprights from 38, 23, 44 and 28 yards out.

With two touchdowns, Skowron knocked down two extra points. With his efforts, he put up 14 of Arizona’s 26 points that day.

California was a game you’ll tell you’re grandchildren about. In a four-point win, Skowron hit 3-for-4 field goals and 4-for-4 extra points. Skowron’s one miss came early in the first quarter, with Arizona already down 14-0, a sign that nothing was going right for the Wildcats. Skowron went on to make field goals of 39 and 28 yards in the first half, sending the Wildcats to halftime down 21-6.

Skowron made one final field goal to start the fourth quarter from 31 yards out. From there, the Wildcats went on to score four touchdowns, making it a two-point game with just 52 seconds left in the game.

It came down to Skowron for the onside kick, which was recovered by Arizona, putting them in position to win the game. And win the game they did  with Anu Solomon’s 47-yard Hail Mary heave to Austin Hill in the corner of the end zone as time expired.

Last but not least, Washington.

Skowron got to show off his wheels in this game, where he ran a fake field goal attempt into the end zone from 18 yards out. Then, with a struggling offense all game long, it was up to the kicker to hit the game-winning field goal.

From 47 yards out, with three seconds left of the clock, it was time for Skowron to redeem himself. From the right hash, Skowron lined up and kicked the ball wide right, just after Washington head coach Chris Peterson called a timeout. The field goal team lined up again for the field goal attempt, as Skowron sent it right through the uprights to win the game 28-27 over Washington.

So through it all, Casey Skowron saved the season, whether you want to admit it or not. He accounted for over half of Arizona’s scoring against UTSA, made all the kicks to put Arizona in position to beat California and got his redemption against Washington.