Virginia Tech's Pace can be counted on for field goals

BLACKSBURG, Va. - If Virginia Tech gets into field goal range Saturday against archrival Virginia, coach Frank Beamer won&#39;t think twice about sending Brandon Pace out on the mission.<br> <br> ``He&#39;s solid as a rock,&#39;&#39; Beamer said after Pace set a Tech record with two field goals when the Hokies (9-2, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Kent State 23-0 on Nov 11. He kicked two more a week later in the 27-6 victory at Wake Forest, bringing his consecutive string to 16 this season and 21 overall.<br> <br> Pace isn&#39;t worried either.<br> <br> ``I don&#39;t plan on missing,&#39;&#39; he said.<br> <br> His last miss came when he hit 3 of 4 against Boston College in a 30-10 victory on Oct. 27, 2005. He&#39;s made 33 of 35 field goal attempts since last season.<br> <br> As a senior, Pace likely won&#39;t break the ACC record of 27 straight set by Marc Primanti of Maryland in 1995-96. But the candidate for All-American and the Lou Groza Award to the nation&#39;s top kicker has a shot at other honors.<br> <br> If he maintains his perfect record, Pace will become the fourth player in Division I-A history with at least 15 attempts not to miss in a season.<br> <br> And his 86.2 percent career success rate (56 of 62) would set an NCAA record for career percentage with a minimum of 55 attempts.<br> <br> Beamer praised Pace&#39;s ability to get the ball airborne quickly, which the kicker said is due more to speed than strength.<br> <br> ``The faster you can swing your leg to the ball, the farther it&#39;s going to go,&#39;&#39; Pace said.<br> <br> The skills needed for kicking a football are similar to those used in golf, he said.<br> <br> ``Our foot&#39;s the club head,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Like Tiger Woods, you know how fast he swings. That&#39;s why he hits the ball so far.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Pace is known for accuracy rather than distance his longest field goal was 46 yards but he said he has been in the 50s at Friday practices with teammates screaming in his ear.<br> <br> The Virginia Beach native with a surfer style said he doesn&#39;t consider himself overly superstitious, but he does make sure he wears the same pair of socks for game day.<br> <br> He got nervous as he kicked the 37-yarder that was his 18th goal to break the school record in the Kent State game.<br> <br> ``I knew it was coming, so I thought about it a little bit more,&#39;&#39; Pace said. ``Then they called a time out too, so I really thought about it.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> But when the time came for the kick, he said, he cleared his head and aimed for the goal posts.<br> <br> With all his success, Pace hasn&#39;t kicked a game-winning field goal. He missed his only chance a 43-yard attempt in 2004 that enabled North Carolina State to hold onto a 17-16 victory at Lane Stadium.<br> <br> He said he&#39;s kicked numerous practice shots from the same spot, and never missed.<br> <br> ``I&#39;ve thought how good it would be to hit a game winner,&#39;&#39; Pace said. ``But if it doesn&#39;t happen, it doesn&#39;t happen.&#39;&#39;