Athletes with tattooed biceps attached to bodies taller than six feet and heavier than 250 pounds slam into each other play-after-play for 59 minutes.
And then, with sweat dripping from their behemoth frames, they take their battered bodies to the sidelines and watch as all of their exerted energy culminates in the right leg of a 5-foot-10, 172-pound freshman.
That would be Oregon placekicker Jared Siegel, who raised his value among his teammates on Sept. 22 when he made their hard work pay off.
With his team behind by one and with only 12 seconds remaining, he strolled onto the field and calmly booted a 32-yard field goal through the uprights to lift the Ducks to a 24-22 victory against Southern California under the bright lights of Autzen Stadium.
“That’s what you work hard for and train for: that opportunity to help your team out,” Siegel said. “Confidence-wise, that kick really helped. Now I know I’ve done it before, and I’m capable of doing it again.”
Just as important, but not as celebrated, is the life of a punter. Generally, a punter’s appearance is greeted with a groan by fans after the offense fails to produce a first down.
And unless the punt goes exceptionally far, a punter is rarely given an ovation. But should a punt get shanked off the side of a foot and travel 15 yards out of bounds, or worse, get blocked, you better believe the punter is going to hear about it.

So goes the thankless job of new Oregon punter Jose Arroyo. The junior transfer from Pasadena City College wasn’t surprised that people were upset about his two blocked punts against Stanford on Oct. 20, but knows that some things are out of his control.
“It gets you mad when they’re blocked, but those punts are forgotten about,” Arroyo said. “You can’t do anything about that now. All you can do is learn and build from that.”
Learning has been an important part of Siegel and Arroyo’s first year as members of the Ducks. Both are starters in positions that were up for grabs through the spring season, the summer workouts and into the fall camp.
“Those guys have been a pleasant surprise because the special teams was our biggest question mark coming into the season for us,” Oregon tight end Justin Peelle said. “And they’ve exceeded expectations and done a really good job.”
Statistically, the Ducks don’t rank near the top of the conference in their kicking game. In fact, Oregon’s opponent Saturday, Arizona State, is four spots above the Ducks in punting in Pacific-10 Conference rankings and six notches ahead in field goals.
But Siegel and Arroyo have done enough to earn their jobs. Siegel has connected on 5-of-8 field goal attempts, while Arroyo has punted 43 times for an average of just under 40 yards. They know, though, that those numbers can improve and that they can’t afford to be complacent with every kick potentially meaning so much in the flow of a game.
“Obviously, there’s still room for improvement with us, but I think we’ve answered people’s questions and done a relatively good job,” Siegel said. “When things are going well, people have a tendency to ignore the special teams. But the kicking game plays a big role in every game and is something you can never take for granted.”
And as Oregon’s recent history with Arizona State proves, with Oregon’s 20-17 win in 1999 and ridiculous 56-55 double overtime win in 2000, the special teams could play a pivotal part when the two teams meet again Saturday night at Autzen Stadium.
“Their kickers are rated more highly than ours in the league stats, but they haven’t kicked on our surface in our stadium, so we’ll see,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “It’s going to be two evenly matched teams so I really do believe that the special teams will be a huge factor in this game.”
Regardless of the outcome, both Siegel and Arroyo will have each other to talk to on Sunday morning about their performance the night before. The two are roommates and have developed a friendship that helps them deal with their newfound pressure of starting for a high-ranked Division I football program.
“On Sundays, we usually run through all the different punts and kicks and analyze the game together,” Siegel said. “It’s kind of fun to have someone there that you can talk to that obviously understands the high demands of your job and the ups and downs that come with it.”
“We’re always there for each other and have helped each other handle all the pressure and the media,” Arroyo said. “I think there’s also a friendly competition as roommates which helps motivate us.”
Having that type of support will be crucial as the season rolls into the month of November with the Ducks one of five teams perched atop the Pac-10 standings with only one loss.
The kicking game will continue to be scrutinized, as it could be the deciding factor between an Oregon trip to the Fiesta Bowl or a vacation to El Paso, Texas, for the Sun Bowl.
“I can’t think of any other conference that is as dominant as the Pac-10 this year,” Siegel said. “So there isn’t a game on our schedule that you can take for granted. And that’s exciting as a kicker.
“It’s been a lifelong dream to be where I’m at, and I’m sure Jose feels the same way. So we’re just thrilled to be in the position that we’re in.”
Even if those positions are ones with little glory and the potential for plenty of blame.