Fera confident despite missed field goal

Texas kicker Anthony Fera did not endear himself to Longhorns fans in his debut last Saturday against West Virginia. He is looking forward to a second chance against Oklahoma. 

Fera missed a 41-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter against West Virginia that would have tied the game at 41 with about five minutes left. Instead, the Mountaineers prevailed 48-45 to hand Texas (4-1) its first loss. 

"I just missed it," said Fera, who also kicked six extra points and made a 38-yard field goal. "We hurried it up a little bit and I just hit it [to the] right a little bit."

The junior would certainly be back in the good graces of UT fans if he were to make a game-winning field goal against No. 13 Oklahoma (3-1) on Saturday.

"I mean, I would hope we beat them by more than that. But if it comes down to that, I'm ready," he said.

Fera, a transfer from Penn State, was absent during the first four games of the season because of a lingering groin issue. He suffered the injury on the second day of fall practice, but admitted he was not 100 percent healthy coming in. 

"It was tough," Fera said. "I was a little injured before I even got here, and then I just made it a little worse when I got here. I'm back out there now, so I'm excited."

Fera didn't start kicking at full-strength until last Tuesday, did not practice Thursday and was a game-time decision against West Virginia. 

"We didn't know until pregame whether he was going to be able to kick," head coach Mack Brown said. "Then it was a cold night. He kicked six extra points and a field goal. We're hoping he will be stronger and more confident this week, since he got through eight kicks and isn't any sorer."

The Longhorns' field goal unit has struggled so far this year. Freshman Nick Jordan was 3-of-7 on field goal tries during Fera's absence. As a team, Texas is 4-of-9 on field goal tries. 

By Austin Laymance/Special to the Star-Telegram