By Billy Watkins
It will forever stand as an iconic moment in Ole Miss football history — Lucas Carneiro’s 47-yard field goal to defeat Georgia in the final seconds of last season’s Sugar Bowl.
But as in most cases, there is a story behind the story.
As Rebel fans were gnawing their nails, holder Oscar Bird — the rookie punter from Sydney, Australia — had a question for long snapper Carter Short prior to running onto the field.
“What are we doing?” he asked.
“Oh, we’re just going to kick a field goal to win the game,” Short replied.
“OK. Sounds good,” Bird said.
Perfect snap, hold and kick — and on to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Bird laughed Tuesday while recalling the moment.
“Having never played the sport before last season, I was still learning so many things,” he said. “And the fact that I didn’t grow up around the sport — and not really understanding how much these games mean to people — really helped me in high pressure moments. I was able to sorta block out the outcome of what we do on the field and just focus on the process.”
That is no longer the case. The 25-year-old Bird, who ranks fourth in the SEC this season in net punting (46.8 yards), definitely understands how invested Rebel fans are in their football team, currently ranked No. 12 in the country. So he handles the pressure in other ways.
“We just came off the practice field,” Bird said, “and we did probably 50 reps (of field goals) after everyone else had left. We were the only ones on the field. We do that so many times a week, and done it so many times all year long, that when it comes to those moments it just feels like we don’t even have to think, You’re just going through the process.”
Bird, who is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, had never seen a college football game in person until he played in the season opener in 2025 against Georgia State.
Growing up in Sydney, he played multiple sports: soccer, cricket, Aussie rules football and tennis. He also became an accomplished surfer.
Before coming to Ole Miss. he spent three years playing Australian Rules Football at the minor league level for Perth Football Club.
It is a challenging sport played on a field much larger than a football field. The demands include tackling, running with the egg-shaped ball and dribbling. Points are made by kicking the ball through a large goal post that has different sections. Players do not wear helmets or pads.
“It’s a demanding sport,” Bird said. “I usually run about nine miles in a game. Having played it for 10 years growing up, I think the mental toughness you get from that sport helped me in (American) football. There is a lot of similarity in trying to execute skills under fatigue and trying to execute under high pressure. That has translated well.”
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A new punting strategy has entered football at the NFL level, primarily through the Seattle Seahawks’ Aussie punter Michael Dickson.
Instead of booming spirals, he sometimes punts the ball in a way that it floats down the field spinning like a helicopter blade. Return specialists have talked about how difficult they are to track and catch. The Kansas City Chiefs employed two returners to try and field Dickson’s spinners last weekend. Other times, they chose not to field the punt at all.
Bird knew all about Dickson and the helicopter punt.
“He is from my hometown,” Bird said. “and he’s actually the guy I watched who came over (to the U.S.). He played for Texas in college. He was the first person I knew about who transitioned from Aussie football to college and the NFL.
“(The helicopter kick) is a very typical kick we would use in Australian football when trying to kick it through the posts from an angle. NFL special teams coordinators are starting to trust the ways Australians can manipulate the ball.
“End of the day, if you can force a turnover via a fumble, it’s going to be the best possible kick you can make. A question is coming into the game now — do we give up a little bit of potential yardage while trying to get the ball back? There is a lot of innovation yet to come into the punting schemes.”
He has not tried a whirly bird at Ole Miss, but Bird does offer his own surprises.
He ran a fake punt 17 yards against Texas last Saturday night for a first down from deep in Ole Miss territory.
It was not called by the coaches.
“It was something I saw (from the defense) at the moment,” he said. “I have the license to run anytime I like as long as I get the first down. That changes if I don’t. It was just reading what was in front of me, and that comes from experience.”
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Bird remains a bit shocked at the national popularity of college football. Australia is a land of 28 million people. Some college football games draw 10 million TV viewers.
And last year he was surprised at all the things that go along with the game. He specifically mentioned the fireworks, tailgating, cheerleaders and the pageantry.
He visited 10 schools when trying to find a landing place in America.
“Oxford was amazing. It was my favorite,” he said. “Another Australian, Fraser Masin, had punted at Ole Miss before me. It really was an easy match to pick Ole Miss.”
His family has visited for games. They also watch back home on livestream. Bird has 15 friends and family members arriving this week for Saturday’s 11:45 a.m. matchup with Auburn in Oxford. Ole Miss (5-2 overall, 3-2 in the SEC) is a two-touchdown favorite over the Tigers (4-3, 2-3).
In his spare time, Bird enjoys cooking and preparing dishes that he misses from home.
“If I want a particular thing, I’ll go to the grocery store or the farmer’s market and buy the ingredients,” he said. “I fix a lot of pasta. In Australia, we have really good Asian food, and I can cook that and Vietnamese and Thai.”
He has also learned that barbecue is a noun instead of a verb in America’s southland. That’s one of the foods he treats his family to when the they visit.
One of his toughest learning experiences came during the playoffs last year when schools from all over were calling him about transferring, even though he wasn’t in the portal.
“It actually led me to work with a mental coach this year,” Bird said. “It’s been pretty significant for me, making sure I have my tool kit for placing my focus on the right things. And also when I’m away from football, getting my mind on other things so that I don’t burn out.”
When asked about the team’s state of mind after its second SEC loss last weekend, Bird said: “I think we have a really mature group. The mark of a good team is if you come in to training on Monday ready to work and you can’t tell if you won or lost the previous weekend. I think what you see around here right now is a group of guys who want to get better, are ready to work and knowing there are opportunities ahead if we just keep getting better.”
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