By William Qualkinbush.

Saturday’s matchup with South Carolina State was considered an opportunity to give Clemson’s football team a jolt heading into a two-week period of preparation for Florida State. The 73-7 victory appeared to do the trick in a number of ways.

No player needed the boost more than placekicker Ammon Lakip.

The junior missed his first impactful kick of the season when he yanked a 35-yard try wide left and into the student section in Sanford Stadium a week ago. His miss late in the first half could have tied the game, yet it became one of the program’s issues most often cited in the aftermath of a bitter defeat.

“I consider each miss a fluke,” Lakip said. “The one at Georgia was definitely a fluke, probably the worst one I’ve ever hit.

“Mentally, I was prepared to hit a game-tying field goal in the Georgia game. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about it. It didn’t happen.”

The miss became a cause of concern for some who doubted the Tigers could adequately replace Chandler Catanzaro, last year’s accurate kicker who will be starting for the Arizona Cardinals when the NFL season opens.

Lakip says the kick did not continue to bother him as the days went by, but he admitted it might have bothered the coaching staff a little bit more.

“I’m not going to lie: The coaches definitely reminded me I missed a couple of times,” Lakip said. “We even practiced 35 from the left hash a couple of times (in practice).

“Their job is to ride me if I miss a kick, especially a 35-yarder. I have the utmost confidence in myself, my protection, my snapper, and my holder.”

As his teammates ran roughshod over an inferior Bulldogs defense, Lakip had three opportunities to create some positive memories—both for himself and for his coaches. The Georgia native buried all three field goal attempts, which pleased his head coach and gave the staff the picture they needed of Lakip having success on field goal tries ahead of the September 20 showdown in Tallahassee.

“We were glad that Ammon Lakip could respond from last week,” Dabo Swinney said. “It was good to see his confidence build a little today.”

The process began early in the game, when Lakip capped off an 11-play drive with a 22-yard field goal that extended the lead to 10-0 midway through the first quarter. He tacked on a 38-yarder midway through the second quarter after a shorter drive, then he hit from 24 yards out with 7:50 to play in the third quarter.

None of the three kicks would be considered difficult from a kicker’s standpoint, but for Lakip, all of them are the same. He learned that confidence from Catanzaro, who functioned as a mentor for Lakip while he was at Clemson. Lakip says Catanzaro never contacted him after his miss in Athens, something he attributes to the personal connection they have developed over time.

“Me and Cat, I feel like we’re different,” Lakip said. “But mentality-wise, there’s nothing to be said because we know it’s our job. I think me growing up behind him kind of set that bar.”

Lakip did not reach that bar in his season debut in Athens. With success now under his belt, he hopes the next time he sees the field in an important spot will end in a different fashion.