Johns Hopkins Wins on Fair Catch Free Kick
Kaleb Wayt's 39-yard kick with two seconds left lifted Johns Hopkins past Muhlenberg 31-28 at Homewood Field.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Football
Johns Hopkins defeated Muhlenberg 31-28 in Baltimore after Kaleb Wayt kicked a 39-yard fair catch free kick with two seconds remaining. Johns Hopkins had surrendered a 28-13 fourth-quarter lead before the final drive.
Why it matters
The play was made possible by college football's reinstatement of the fair catch free kick for the 2026 season, a rule that had been absent for 76 years. The game-winning attempt gave Johns Hopkins its second straight victory and improved its record to 3-5.
Wayt improved to 6-for-9 on field goals this season, including 5-for-5 from inside 40 yards, while the fair catch free kick covered 39 yards. Muhlenberg's Sam Morris punt traveled 24 yards before Alex Orecchio's fair catch set up the final sequence.
The players
Johns Hopkins University
The private research university in Baltimore whose football team won the game and improved to 3-5 this season.
Muhlenberg College
The private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, whose team fell to 4-4 after the loss.
The details
After a completed or awarded fair catch, a team may attempt a field goal directly from that spot without a snap, with the defense required to line up 10 yards away. Coach Dan Wodicka used his remaining timeouts to force a punt with 10 seconds left, and Chase Alley's 56-yard punt pinned Muhlenberg at its 2-yard line with 18 seconds remaining.
Timeline
1939: Marquette beat Michigan State in the last college game with a successful fair catch free kick.
1950: College football eliminated the fair catch.
October 31, 2026: Johns Hopkins beat Muhlenberg 31-28 on the fair catch free kick.
Season Trajectory
The reinstatement of the fair catch free kick returns a play that college football had removed in 1950, after last being used in Marquette's 1939 win over Michigan State. Johns Hopkins' victory and Muhlenberg's loss shift both programs' positions in their current seasons.
The fair catch free kick gives teams a new option to score from the spot of a completed or awarded fair catch without a snap. Fantasy and season-standings followers can track kicker usage as the rule returns this season.
The takeaway
A rule that disappeared for more than seven decades can decide a close game, and the fair catch free kick now offers teams a scoring option that was largely absent from college play. Watching how coaches use it this season will show whether it becomes a regular part of late-game strategy.
Further reading
For more on the local team, see Baltimore Football.
