Vanderbilt kicker Fuller becomes first woman to play in Power 5
Sarah Fuller was playing around with a teammate a couple months ago when she kicked a soccer ball through the uprights from 45 yards away. She joked about being able to kick a football with teammates during the Southeastern Conference soccer tournament.
On Saturday, she made history.
Fuller became the first woman to participate in a Power Five conference football game when she kicked off for Vanderbilt to start the second half at Missouri, a moment that may take some time to soak in for her.
“I just think it’s incredible that I am able to do this, and all I want to do is be a good influence to the young girls out there because there were times like I struggled in sports,” Fuller said. “But I am so thankful I stuck with it, and it’s given me so many opportunities. I’ve met so many amazing people through sports, and I just want to say like literally you can do anything you set your mind to.”
Fuller kicked with a holder rather than using a tee in a designed squib kick, and the senior sent a low kick to the 35yard line where it was pounced on by Missouri’s Mason Pack. Fuller didn’t get any other opportunities in Vanderbilt’s 410 loss to Missouri.
Coach Derek Mason — who on Sunday was fired after losing the first eight games of his seventh season — made clear that Fuller kicked for the Commodores due to need, not for history or publicity. COVID19
protocols and restrictions left Mason with very few options, prompting him to reach out to the soccer team for help.
Fuller, a 6-foot-2 goalkeeper, decided she was up for the challenge.
“I’m not about making statements,” Mason said. “This was out of necessity. You look at our week. Our students had gone home. The ability to have access to students and tryouts was almost nil in terms of like what’s available. … That just happened to be the most viable option.”
After her kickoff, reaction poured in on social media. Fuller was the No. 2 trending topic on Twitter, followed by Vandy. Her soccer team wrote on Twitter: “Glass. Everywhere.”
As in glass ceiling.
■ IRON BOWL: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Mac Jones passed for 302 yards and five touchdowns, highlighted by two long ones to DeVonta
Smith, and No. 1 Alabama rolled over rival No. 22 Auburn 42-13 on Saturday without coach Nick Saban.
The Crimson Tide (8-0, No. 1 playoff rankings) continued a dominating march through a schedule of all-Southeastern Conference games even minus its six-time national champion coach on the sideline.
Saban tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and watched the game feed from home, witnessing the usual array of big plays with offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian running the show.
The result was much of the same against the Tigers (5-3), who suffered the second-most lopsided loss of Gus Malzahn’s coaching tenure. The only bigger margin was Alabama’s 5221 win in the 2018 Iron Bowl.
Alabama started a string of three straight touchdowns with Jones’s 66-yard touchdown to Smith, who was streaking by himself downfield after Auburn defenders bit on a pump fake. He later added a 58-yard catch and run on a quick slant, sprinting away from the Tigers.
Smith had seven catches for 171 yards. Najee Smith ran for 96 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown, and John Metchie III caught a pair of scoring passes.
Bo Nix passed for 227 yards and ran for a late touchdown for the Tigers, but also threw two interceptions.
■ LAWRENCE’S RETURN: At Clemson, S.C., Trevor Lawrence threw for 403 yards and two touchdowns in his first game in five weeks — and likely last one at Death Valley — and No. 4 Clemson throttled Pittsburgh 52-17.
Lawrence hadn’t seen the field on game day since beating Syracuse on Oct. 24. He tested positive for the coronavirus the following week and missed Clemson’s next two games, including its only loss this season — a 47-40 double OT defeat at No. 2 Notre Dame.
Lawrence led Clemson (8-1, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference; No. 3 CFP) a step closer to the league championship game and a likely rematch with the unbeaten Fighting Irish.
Cornell Powell had five catches for 176 yards, including a 43-yard TD catch off a flea-flicker pass from Lawrence. Powell also had an incredible, one-handed grab on a 70-yard pass to the Pitt 5 that set up Chez Mellusi’s 2-yard TD run for a 38-3 lead.
The Panthers (5-5, 4-5) were the last team to win at Clemson, 43-42 in 2016. Kenny Pickett threw four interceptions, three in the first eight minutes that all led to Clemson touchdowns.