Southern Miss Golden Eagles
New Orleans, La
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Odessa, FL
Senior
Ohio State Buckeyes
Ruggles, a senior from Odessa, Florida, is the nation’s top scoring kicker with 113 points. His bid for a perfect season came to an end this weekend, snapping what had been the nation’s longest consecutive field goal streak at 18 straight, going back to his previous season. Despite this late miss, his totals of 16‐for‐17 on field goals and 65‐for‐65 on PATs give him a combined accuracy rate of 98.78% on all kicks this season, the best by an FBS kicker with double‐digit field goal tries.
Hoover, AL
Senior
Alabama Crimson Tide
Reichard, a graduate student from Hoover, Alabama, caps one of the great collegiate careers of all time by becoming just the 12th kicker in history to be voted a Groza finalist more than once. He has amassed 530 points in his career, tied for the most by any player in FBS history. This season, his 3-for-3 mark on kicks from at least 50 yards gives him the most by any kicker who didn’t miss from long distance, perhaps not surprising given his 8 career makes from 50+ are the most in Alabama history.
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TCU Horned Frogs
Michael Reeder became the first sophomore to win the Lou Groza Award after a 1995 season that saw him kick 23 field goals, a Texas Christian record, as well as 20 extra points. Reeder further entrenched himself in the long annuals of TCU football by making a school record 13 consecutive field goals. He did not miss a field goal inside of 39 yards, and was often called the Horned Frogs’ security blanket. For his efforts, Reeder was named a consensus All-American. Reflecting on his magical 1995 season, Reeder said, “It means that for at least one year, I was the best college kicker in the country. The countless hours of practice paid off.”