Amid ASU’s 61-59 three-overtime loss to Oregon was one rarity that perhaps was a bit lost in the mix when all was finished. A rarity that occurred before a wild fourth quarter, multiple overtimes and an infamous officiating controversy.

Zane Gonzalez, usually reliable, missed three first-half field goals, something he said he has never done in his life. Understandably so, he was shocked.

“Missing three field goals in one-half is just out of my character 100 percent,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve never dealt with that in my life much less missing three field goals (in an entire game). It was a struggle, but at halftime (special teams coach Shawn Slocum) told me to toughen up and keep my head right.”

The first-half misses did not linger, though. In the second half, he made field goals from 28 yards and 33 yards, respectively.

And after that game — one Gonzalez mentioned as a “low point” in his ASU career — he hit 14-of-15 field goals in the final five games of the season.

He said he just had to forget it and move on to the next week.

“Go to film, see what you did wrong and just toss it away,” Gonzalez said. “When it’s that bad, you just have to throw it in the trash can.”

Growing up, Gonzalez said he was accustomed to his father telling him whenever he performed poorly in anything. Now, no one else needs to tell him.

“You just got to be mentally tough,” he said. “You’re going to hear critics, you’re going to hear people praising you when you’re high and hating you when you’re low…I don’t think anyone else can be harder on me than I am on myself.”

He has experienced the other side of it too. In 2014, Gonzalez hit his first game-winner against Utah at home. After already missing one field goal in that game, he recalled telling then-starting quarterback Taylor Kelly, ‘Bro, just give me another chance.’”

Then, he nailed his chance at redemption in overtime.

He joked about the lose-lose nature of being a kicker.

“It’s kind of a bad situation because if you make it, you’re supposed to make it,” Gonzalez said. “If you miss it, you’re supposed to make it.”

Following a season Gonzalez rated as “average,” he enters 2016 needing just 16 field goals to break Dustin Hopkins’ NCAA record for career field goals. He is also the NCAA’s active leader in field goals at 1.87 per game and scoring at 9.9 points per game.

Head coach Todd Graham called Gonzalez’s career to this point “remarkable” and said the team needs a big year out of him this season.

“I told him I hope we score touchdowns and that he never has to kick a field goal, but the reality is that he’s going to score a lot of points,” Graham said.

When Graham finished reflecting on all of the kicker’s accomplishments and milestones with the program, he added: “You probably won’t have that happen again in my career.”

Gonzalez nailed 25-of-30 field goals as a freshman and 22-of-27 as a sophomore, ending each season a semifinalist for the Lou Groza National Collegiate Place-Kicker Award.

Last year, he doubled as the kickoff specialist and field goal kicker and excelled at the new role. He said it did not affect his place-kicking, but helped him stay loose during games.

In addition to kicking the second-most field goals in the nation with 26, an impressive 79 of his 88 kickoffs went into the end zone. Furthermore, 66 of those were touchbacks, and that 75 percent touchback percentage was the highest in the country. And just for comparison’s sake, only 27 of 83 opponent kickoffs were touchbacks, a much lower 32.5 percent touchback percentage.

Gonzalez said he worked on his technique throughout the summer.

“I know I have the leg strength to hit the ball from a good amount of distance,” he said. “For me, it’s all about my stance, my approach and just being consistent, keeping my head down and following through the ball.”

The focus on special teams has been effort and making sure everyone is on the same page, he said.

“We have the potential to be the best in the country special teams-wise,” Gonzalez said. “That helps us out substantially when it comes to winning games. There are three phases of the game — offense, defense, and special teams. If you win special teams, that’s a check right there. We just got to win one more and we’ll win the game.”

As Gonzalez embarks on his senior year, he has a new motto.

“Every kick is a new kick,” Gonzalez said.