Carlson, a senior from Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the first player to ever be voted a finalist for the Groza three times. With 19 field goals this year, his career total stands at 88, tied for the second-most ever in a collegiate career. His 108 points, tied for third-most among FBS kickers this season, give him 460 for his career, the scoring record not only at Auburn but in SEC history. He is tied for 2^nd in FBS this season with 4 field goals from over 50 yards, a total he has reached in each of the last three years. He has not missed an extra point in his career, an SEC record 191 straight attempts.

Martin Gramatica capped a phenomenal 1997 season that saw him make 19 of 20 field goal attempts by winning the Lou Groza Award. Gramatica set several Kansas State records that year, including most field goals in a season, and became the school’s all-time leading scorer with 214 points. He also became the only kicker in K-State history to make two 50-yard field goals in a single game; one from 55 yards tied the Big 12 record for longest field goal. Gramatica was a finalist for the Groza Award again in 1998, but lost to Sebastian Janikowski. After his senior year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Gramatica in the third round of the NFL Draft.