Missouri football’s win over Boston College on Saturday was only six points, and without the valuable contributions of kicker Blake Craig, the final score could have been different.

Craig was named the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Week after a perfect game. He made 4 of 4 field goals and an extra point for a total of 13 points on the day, including a 56-yard field goal, the longest of his young career.

The freshman is now tied with UNLV’s Caden Chittenden, Eastern Michigan’s Jesus Gomez and SMU’s Collin Rogers for the most field goals per game in college football.

“A difference in the game,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said of Craig’s performance.

The Tigers struggled to get going on offense early on and fell behind 14-3 midway through the second quarter. Craig was still able to make an impact throughout the game and helped them fight their way back to the top point by point.

This came after a rough outing from Craig against Buffalo in Week 2, where he made just 1 of 3 field goals — albeit attempts from long range. Missouri easily could have panicked and lost faith in the first-year kicker, but instead, confidence continued to grow in Week 3.

“There were a lot of questions about his field goals last week and I said I wasn’t really worried because I know he has the leg to make that 57-yard throw at the end of the half,” Drinkwitz said. “I think that gave our team a lot of confidence going into halftime and he played an outstanding game today.”

As difficult as it was to replace Harrison Mevis after last season, Craig’s performance on Saturday showed that he is ready to step in as the Tigers’ true No. 1 kicker.