CORVALLIS — For Oregon State ’s Caleb Ojeda, kicking is a lot like playing golf.

Calm the nerves, don’t try to kill it, and let the club (or in this case, leg) do the work.

“A lot of kicking is momentum,” Ojeda said. “And if you try and kill a ball, you’re not gonna have a lot of momentum. So, it’s just trusting mechanics and and staying smooth with it.”

Ojeda was smooth on Saturday, overcoming pregame jitters to hit a career-long 53-yard field goal in his first Division I attempt. The redshirt junior played two seasons of junior college ball at College of San Mateo before transferring to OSU prior to the 2024 season.

He earned the starting kicker job this season in part due to his big leg. In the team’s first fall scrimmage and in the spring game before that, he hit 54-yard field go

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