UC kicker Jonathan Ruffin. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        Jonathan Ruffin remembers missing the 33-yard field goal in the second quarter against Ohio State three years ago and not being terribly disappointed. The University of Cincinnati was ahead 17-3. Ruffin, then a freshman, had made his first three college field goal attempts and had hit a 46-yarder in the first quarter in Ohio Stadium (“Maybe my most memorable kick,” he says).

        He came to the sideline and thought: “I had to miss sometime. Oh well, let's move on to the next kick.”

        Ruffin made a 23-yarder in the fourth quarter for the game's final points. Ohio State won 34-20. The teams meet again Saturday at Paul Brown Stadium (3:30 p.m., ESPN).

        “I went into the press room and people started talking about how (the miss) was the momentum changer in the game,” Ruffin said. “I wasn't ready for that. That was something I wasn't thinking about. Then I realized how important it actually was. It kind of taught me a lesson, how important every kick is. I got down on myself.

        “That was when the downward spiral of my freshman year started.”

        He made just one of seven field goal attempts the rest of the season. In the next game, at Houston, he was wide left on two and had an extra point blocked. UC lost 23-20. Ruffin blamed himself.

        For the rest of his freshman year, Ruffin had no confidence. He kept thinking he would be benched.

        “I've always kicked about the same,” he said. “I've never changed my technique a whole lot. I try to keep everything the same every week. (But) if you don't think you're going to make it, you're not going to. I never gave myself a chance.”

        When the season ended, he got away from football for a while. He vowed to put the year behind him and come out fresh for spring practices in 2000.

        He kicked the ball well and regained his confidence, and it carried into his sophomore year.

        All he did then was connect on 26 of 29 field goals and win the Lou Groza Award as the nation's top kicker. He was a consensus first-team All-American and the Bearcats' MVP.

        Last year, Ruffin led the team in scoring for the second straight year with 72 points.

        “I think one of the most important things about being a kicker is just forgetting what happened, good or bad,” Ruffin said. “To me, kicking is all mental. Any kicker in college football can come out here and kick field goals all day. But it's who can keep the mental composure to be able to do what you do in practice in a game.”

        And that's why Ruffin is not brooding over his last kick. His 49-yard attempt as time expired Saturday night hit the left upright, preventing UC from tying its game with West Virginia. The Mountaineers won 35-32.

        “There's nothing I can do about it now,” Ruffin said. “It happened. I wasn't really mad at myself, I was just mad that I missed. I hit the ball good; it just didn't go in. If I would've shanked it, it would be different.

        “I can't wait (for Saturday). Big crowd. It's Ohio State, obviously. Any time you can play in front of that many people, it's exciting, because we don't do it that often. I just want to get back on track.”

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