The longest field goals in college football history

The kicking game can make or break seasons, let alone games, in college football. A missed chip shot in the first quarter could come back to bite a team in the butt if they lose by three or fewer points.

But a kicker's job is certainly not easy (just ask the amateurs who attempt Pat McAfee's challenge on College Gameday). Holds, field and weather conditions can all affect the direction of the ball.

Here you'll find the longest successful field goals in college football history, who kicked them and what kind of conditions they were under.

Record-breaking NCAA field goals

69 yards (1)

Ove Johansson, Abilene Christian, 1976: Johansson reportedly kicked 70 yarders during warm-up before Abilene Christian's game against East Texas State. It was a windy day in Shotwell Stadium when head coach Wally Bullington decided to send his special teams out for a 69-yard attempt. Johannson nailed the kick (it would've been good from 75 yards) but it wasn't even a game-winner, it was just in the middle of the first half. "Well, we needed three points," Bullington later told the NCAA. Technically, this kick occurred in the NAIA, so it's not the longest field goal in NCAA history.

67 yards (4)

Tom Odle, Fort Hayes State, 1988: There's not much available information on Odle's kick. He hit it in a 22-14 win over Washburn on Nov. 5, 1988, for Division II Fort Hayes State. What's interesting is that he did it in the era of kickers still being able to use two-inch tees instead of a player holding the ball.

Joe Williams, Wichita State, 1978: The Shockers don't have a football team anymore but this kick will live on in school history forever. Williams booted the ball 67 yards for the 33-7 victory over Southern Illinois as time expired. Williams told the Wichita Eagle in 2018 that the team had to convince the coach to let him attempt it. Good thing the coach gave in.

Steve Little, Arkansas, 1977: This kick happened during a Top 10 faceoff between then-No. 2 Texas and No. 9 Arkansas with the former prevailing 13-9. However, three of the Razorbacks' points came off the boot of Little who convinced then-head coach Lou Holtz to let him attempt it from his own 43-yard line. Video of Little's kick shows that it would've been good from at least three yards further back.

Russell Erxleben, Texas, 1977: In a 72-15 blowout win over Rice, Erxleben convinced his coach to let him try for the record-setting kick. According to Sports Illustrated, he was assisted by an eight-mile-per-hour wind that carried the ball through the middle of the uprights. Erxleben hit this kick just two weeks before Little would tie him.

65 yards (2)

Martin Gramatica, Kansas State, 1998: After winning the Lou Groza award the previous season, Gramatica hit his 65-yarder against Northern Illinois — the longest without a tee. He went on to set the NCAA record for scoring by a kicker with 135 points and eventually won Super Bowl XXXVII with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Troy Franklin, Texas A&M, 1976: Ironically, Franklin hit this kick just minutes before Johansson hit his record-setting kick over 200 miles away. Franklin is also the only NCAA kicker to hit multiple 60+ yard field goals in the same game which he did in 1976. He also holds the record for most 50+ field goals in a career with 16.

Other long field goals in college football history

Long field goals immortalize a kicker in his school's football annals, especially when they win games or come at clutch moments. Some kicks can make an entire career, even if the kicker was totally average up until that point.

Here are more of the longest field goals in college football history.