Justin Tucker successfully kicked the longest field goal in NFL history when he made a game-winning 66-yard field goal in Week 3 of the 2021 season. While it would logically make sense that Tucker’s kick is the longest at any level of football, it isn’t.
In fact, four college football players have hit field goals longer than Tucker’s NFL record, albeit with a caveat.
Here are the 10 longest field goals in college football history.
What’s the Longest Field Goal in College Football History?
The longest field goal in college football history has remained unbroken for nearly 50 years as four players hit from beyond 65 yards in a two-year span in the mid-1970s. The caveat here is that all of them used a kicking tee, which was allowed in the college game until 1989.
But before we get to the record-holder, let’s take a look at some guys who came close.
Note: An asterisk indicates it was off a kicking tee, and two asterisks mean it’s estimated, though no one actually measured the exact distance.
T-8) Tony Franklin, Texas A&M
Length: 64 yards*
When: Oct. 16, 1976
Remarkably, Tony Franklin’s 64-yarder is the third-longest field goal hit on that day and the second-longest in that game. Franklin would later hit from further, becoming the only player ever to hit from 60-plus yards twice in one college game.
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Franklin’s kicks, like many on this list, were off of a two-inch kicking tee, but that shouldn’t make his feat any less impressive.
T-8) Russell Erxleben, Texas Longhorns
Length: 64 yards*
When: Oct. 8, 1977
Russell Erxleben had a ridiculously powerful leg, and he showed it in October of 1977.
This wasn’t even Erxleben’s season-long field goal, as he hit from further just one week prior (we’ll see that later on this list). He had a small tailwind, but he still had plenty of room to spare on that kick.
T-8) Jose Martinez, UTEP Miners
Length: 64 yards
When: Sept. 28, 2008
We may have been robbed of a record in that Jose Martinez never attempted a kick beyond this 64-yarder that he nailed in 2008. The kick was against the wind and had plenty of distance. Martinez reportedly hit from 72 yards in practice and hit the crossbar from 77 yards on another day.
Sadly, Martinez was never given an opportunity to break the record.
T-5) J.T. Haxall, Princeton Tigers
Length: 65 yards**
When: Nov. 30, 1882
J.T. Haxall kicked a long field goal from beyond midfield just 13 years after the first college football game was played.
Haxall made his iconic kick against Yale at the famous Polo Grounds, and though no one measured the exact distance, it was widely accepted to be from 65 yards.
No one ever disputed the claim that it was “well beyond midfield.”
T-5) Tony Franklin, Texas A&M Aggies
Length: 65 yards*
When: Oct. 16, 1976
Franklin set two college records on Oct. 16, 1976: One that has stood for almost 50 years and another that lasted about 50 minutes.
Franklin hit from 65 and 64 yards on the same day and no one since has ever hit two 60-yarders in the same game.
Franklin’s college record of 65 yards only lasted about an hour, however, as the top player on this list broke his record later that same day.
T-5) Martin Gramatica, Kansas State Wildcats
Length: 65 yards
When: Sept. 12, 1999
Martin Gramatica holds the distinction of having the longest college football field goal of all time without a kicking tee.
At the end of the first half of a 73-7 win over Northern Illinois, Gramatica hit from 65 yards out with room to spare.
Grammatica, of course, would go on to have an excellent NFL career with the Cowboys, Buccaneers, Colts, and Saints. However, he never came close to his college mark, with an NFL long of just 55 yards.
T-2) Russell Erxleben, Texas Longhorns
Length: 67 yards*
When: Oct. 1, 1977
On Oct. 1, 1977, Texas’ Erxleben nailed a 67-yard field goal against the Rice Owls. It wasn’t all that surprising at the time, given that he was known to have one of the strongest legs ever.
Like most of the kicks on this list, it has an asterisk as it was off a kicking tee. Obviously, with two entries on this list, Erxleben is one of the most powerful kickers ever.
T-2) Steve Little, Arkansas Razorbacks
Length: 67 yards*
When: Oct. 16, 1977
Unbelievably, Exrleben’s mark would be matched just two weeks later as Steve Little hit from 67 yards for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Exrleben himself witnessed the feat as he was on the opposing sideline for the kick Little hit against the Texas Longhorns.
Little would be one of three kickers to hit from 67 yards in a span of 385 days, as the next player on this list matched the distance just over a year later.
T-2) Joe Williams, Wichita State Shockers
Length: 67 yards*
When: Oct. 21, 1978
College kicking in the 1970s was excellent, and Joe Williams tied for second all-time with a 67-yarder against Southern Illinois just one year after Little and Erxleben hit from the mark.
Williams is the most recent kicker in college football (or any other level, for that matter) to hit from 67 yards, and he’s tied for first on the NCAA list.
1) Ove Johansson, Abilene Christian University
Length: 69 yards*
When: Oct. 16, 1976
If you don’t believe a college kicker could hit from 69 yards, don’t worry, there’s video.
Ove Johansson and the Abilene Christian Wildcats faced East Texas State on a windy October day in 1976. Johansson reportedly had the aid of a 17 mph tailwind and also kicked off a tee, but his kick is still impressive. No player has ever come close to hitting from as far in a game.
Johansson’s record might stand for another 50 years, as the removal of kicking tees has made it difficult to hit from this far out in recent seasons.
It’s not the NCAA record, as Abilene Christian was an NAIA school at the time. But it still tops our list for the longest field goal at any level of college football.
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