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.

Graham Gano, a senior from Pensacola, Florida, was slated to become the first kicker in Bobby Bowden’s 33 years at Florida State to handle field goals, kick-offs and punts until two weeks before the start of the Seminoles’ season when he tore the meniscus in his right knee. After surgery and rehab, Gano was back on the field after missing just two games. He lined up for the first field goal attempt of his collegiate career from 52 yards, and missed that kick. It would be 55 days before he missed another field goal. Graham went on to make an FSU record 18 consecutive field goals, including five straight attempts from 50 yards or more. He is the only kicker in school history to convert over 90% of his field goals in a season.

Matt Gay was the nation’s leading field goal kicker in the 2017 season. Connecting on 27 of his 31 attempts, the junior set a new Utah single-season record and finished the year with three more makes than any other kicker in the country. But his season was about much more than just that one number. The 27 makes included five field goals from at least 50 yards out, tied for the most in the nation. Those long distance kicks included not one but two connections from 56 yards out, tied for the longest field goals by regular FBS kickers that year. Against San Jose State, he connected from 56 and 50 in the same game, along with two more field goals and six PATs for an 18-point performance. His other 4-for-4 field goal game was even more important, as he provided nearly all the scoring against rival BYU in a 19-13 Holy War victory. In all, he made multiple field goals in nine games, racking up seven games with double-digit points. His 118 points are the third-most by a kicker in the 2017 season, and he’s the only kicker in the top fifteen with fewer than 40 extra point attempts.