Gophers' Santoso at home in Florida

ORLANDO – Ryan Santoso grew up in the Florida panhandle in a town called Pace, right outside Pensacola on the Gulf of Mexico.

Somehow, someway, he wound up becoming the starting kicker for Minnesota, as a redshirt freshman, with potential game-changing duties Thursday in the Citrus Bowl against Missouri.

He'll have about 20 friends and family members in the stands, even though Pace is about a six-hour drive from Orlando.

"It's awesome getting to come back and play here," Santoso said.

The 6-6 Santoso kicked in the Under Armour All-American game as a high school senior, but his only other Division-I scholarship offers came from Southern Mississippi and Southern Alabama.

He jumped at Minnesota's offer, insisting he wasn't too concerned about the weather.

"It was all about Coach [Jerry] Kill and his staff," Santoso said. "They were father figures, and I'd seen what he had done at past programs, and I just knew he was on the rise."

But Santoso's role might be the most stressful. Several bowl games have come down to one kick this postseason.

Memphis' Jake Elliott hit a 54-yarder to send the Miami Beach Bowl to double overtime, where the Tigers defeated BYU. The next night, San Diego State's Donny Hageman missed a 34-yarder wide right with 20 seconds left in a one-point Poinsettia Bowl loss to Navy. Boston College's Mike Knoll shanked an extra point in OT, which set the stage for Penn State's Sam Ficken's Pinstripe Bowl-winning PAT.

Now, along comes Santoso, who has hit 11 of 17 field-goal attempts for a 64.7 percentage that ranks 89th in the nation. He was 3-for-3 with a 48-yarder at Michigan, and he drilled a 52-yard game-winner against Purdue. Santoso also turned 53 percent of his kickoffs into touchbacks, ranking 25th in the nation.