After being a semifinalist his freshman and sophomore seasons, Seth Marler finally broke through as a junior and won the Lou Groza Award. Marler made 15 of the 16 field goal attempts he made (the only miss was blocked) and connected on 39 of 40 extra points. He went three for three on kicks longer than 50 yards, including a 53-yarder against East Carolina that was the second-longest field goal in Green Wave history. Marler’s field goal percentage of 93.8% shattered the previous school mark by more than 10 percent. Marler finished his career at Tulane in 2002 as the most prolific kicker ever to wear a Green Wave jersey, making 66 field goals during his four years in New Orleans.

Nicholson finished the season 26-for-27 on field goals, with his only miss coming late in Miami’s MAC Championship Game victory over Toledo. With a 23-for-23 regular season, Nicholson set a new FBS record for the most field goals in a perfect regular season, topping 2012 Lou Groza Award winner Cairo Santos’ mark of 21. Add two more to start the MAC Championship Game and he made 25 consecutive field goals, matching the all-time FBS record for the longest streak in one season. Overall, his 26 field goals tied for the second-most in FBS while his 96.3% accuracy was the highest by any kicker with even 15 attempts on the year. He also set the bar for consistency by making field goals in every game of the season. Of the eight FBS kickers who made at least 23 field goals, he’s the only one who can make that claim. He kicked multiple field goals in nine games, including a trio of 3-for-3 performances. In two of those, he outscored the RedHawks’ opponent on his own, totaling 11 points in both a 23-3 win over Kent State and a 23-10 victory over Buffalo.