Karty, a junior from Burlington, North Carolina, became just the fourth kicker in FBS history to stay perfect on field goals through a full season, going 18-for-18 for the first season without a miss since 2013. He didn’t play it safe to get there, leading the country with 13 field goals from at least 40 yards out. Three of those came from over 50, including a 61-yard blast that set a new Cardinal record. It was the longest kick in FBS by five yards and the third-longest FG in the last 10 seasons. He went 5-for-5 on field goals against Arizona State, scoring every point in a 15-14 come-from-behind win.

The nation’s leading field goal kicker in 2018 was Andre Szmyt. Connecting on 28 of his 32 attempts, the freshman set a new Atlantic Coast Conference single-season record and finished the year with three more makes than any other kicker in the country. But his season was about so much more than just that one number. The 28 field goals included a perfect 3-for-3 mark on kicks from at least 50 yards. Against Pittsburgh, he connected on a season-long 54 yarder to give the Orange the lead late in the fourth quarter. It was his third field goal of the game, part of a stretch of four straight games in which he made three kicks. In fact, he made multiple field goals in each of the first ten games of the season, culminating in a 4-for-4 performance against Louisville. It’s no surprise then that he also scored double-digit points in each of those first ten games, helping him to a season total of 141 that lead the nation not only in kick-scoring but in scoring by any player regardless of position. While his totals grab the headlines – and don’t forget his perfect 57-for-57 extra point attempts – it hasn’t come at the expense of accuracy. His 87.5 field goal percentage was 2nd in the nation by kickers with more than 20 attempts.