Earlier this month, Georgia Tech great Luke Manget had what seemed an idle wish for Yellow Jackets kicker Harrison Butker.
Manget got his wish. Butker, who entered the TaxSlayer Bowl on Saturday tied with Tech hall of famer Manget for the Tech career scoring record with 322 points, finished his memorable career with one of his best games, going 4-for-4 on field goals and putting all seven of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. It was the first four-field goal game of his career with a team that typically eschews 3-pointers.
He passed Manget with his first point-after try just 1:50 into the game after P.J. Davis returned a fumble 38 yards for a touchdown.
“I was happy to get it over with,” Butker said. “A lot of emotions came over me. I was a Tech fan growing up, and then to think that I now hold the record for Georgia Tech history, that’s pretty crazy.”
Butker ended the first half with a 52-yarder to give Tech a 20-3 lead. It tied for the third longest of his career after his two 53-yarders against Georgia in 2014 and Florida State in 2015. Butker essentially was iced when Kentucky coach Mark Stoops sought clarification from officials regarding measurement and the handling of the clock after Tech wide receiver Brad Stewart caught a pass on the sideline and the clock stopped with one second remaining after picking up the first down. It was unclear if the clock was stopped because he got out of bounds or simply for the first down, but the clock was re-set to three seconds after a review.
“I just didn’t understand why they just let them have as much time as they want to set it up and kick (a field goal),” Stoops said.
Said Butker, “I didn’t know what was going on. The referees were saying stuff, the coaches were saying stuff, both of them were kind of wrong. It was just a mess, but I’m glad we made the kick.”
It was just the second game in coach Paul Johnson’s tenure that the Jackets made four field goals (Tech’s 2009 ACC Championship game win over Clemson was the other) and just the fourth in which the Jackets attempted four, according to sports-reference.com. Given Johnson’s willingness to go for it on fourth down and the offense’s efficiency, field goals are not frequent options. But they were Saturday. Asked to describe Butker’s meaning to Tech over the past four years, Johnson replied, “Unbelievable.”
“It was just fun,” Buker said of the bowl game. “It was great. I loved the uniform combo, I loved playing in an NFL stadium. It was a lot of fun.”
Butker, who Friday was honored by the bowl game as Tech’s top scholar-athlete, finishes with 337 points.
Said Butker, “I’m looking forward to the next guy taking it over and breaking my record.”
