100 Day Sun Devil Football Countdown To Kickoff, #95: Thomas Weber's Redemption

As Max Fisher is prone to quote the Latin, sic transit gloria--glory fades. Former Arizona State kicker Thomas Weber knows that fact all too well. But as you will see in No. 95 on our 100 Day Sun Devil football countdown, Weber found a path to redemption at the most opportune time.

Sun Devil fans are very familiar with Thomas Weber's spectacular collegiate debut. Taking over as the team's kicker, was perfect on his first 17 field goal attempts of his career, finally missing a kick right before halftime in ASU's Week 9 loss to Oregon. He rebounded to connect on his final seven field goals of the season, and that 24 of 25 performance was enough to earn the freshman the Lou Groza Award as the nation's best kicker.

However, that success could not be sustained. Over the next two years, Weber was bother by injuries and made just 71% of his field goals, a sharp decline from the near-automatic status of his 2007 year. Finally healthy, he looked to have a strong senior season in 2010 to cap his Sun Devil career.

That didn't seem to happen. He missed seven of his first 17 attempts, including some in close and costly losses, and three extra points failed to hit the back of the net.

However, he managed to make both field goals against UCLA in the season's penultimate game, hopefully generating some momentum for the huge showdown looming with Arizona.

Weber accounted for the only first half scoring, as he converted both of his field goal attempts, including the first from 52-yards, as ASU went into the half up 6-0.

The Wildcats took the lead with a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, but Weber connected again for a pair in the fourth quarter, the final a critical 40-yarder that gave ASU a six-point lead...which held up thanks to James Brooks. Overtime!

The Wildcats opening possession fizzled, and they settled for a chipshot field goal. ASU's drive went for a grand total of two yards, leaving Weber with a none-too-easy and pressure packed kick. With the season and a shot at the Territorial Cup on the line...

That put Weber at a perfect five-for-five on the day, which tied the school record for most field goals in a game. As anyone knows, in double overtime, Wildcat kicker Alex Zendejas was Brooks'd again, and ASU won an all-time classic. But they would not have gotten there without a career day from their resilient kicker.

See the previous entries on our countdown here.

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