College football’s top kicking award, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by the Orange Bowl, recognizes three of the top kickers each week from FBS division teams as the “Stars of the Week.” This week’s selections have been chosen from among the 20 semifinalists.
Tyler Loop connected from 24 yards out as time expired to give Arizona its first win as a ranked team in over eight years, topping Colorado 34-31. With the victory, the Wildcats have come out on top in four straight games for the first time since 2019. It’s the first game-winning field goal for Arizona since 2014. While his second make was the more important, the junior from Lucas, Texas had already knocked through a 52-yard field goal, setting a new career-long. He added four extra points for a 10-point performance. At 15-for-17 on the year, his 88.2% accuracy is tied for second in FBS among kickers with multiple field goals from long distance.
Iowa clinched a share of the Big Ten West division title with the leg of Drew Stevens providing more than enough offense in a 22-0 shutout of Rutgers. The sophomore from North Augusta, S.C. totaled 10 points on three field goals and a PAT, marking the second time this season he outscored the Hawkeyes’ opponent on his own. In four other games, he’s scored more than the margin of victory, making him arguably Iowa’s most important offensive weapon. This week he kicked field goals from 43, 32, and 24 yards out for his third career game with three or more makes. His 68 points this season are more than triple any other Iowa player.
It’s now been a full calendar year since Alex McPherson has missed a kick, setting an Auburn record in the process of the Tigers’ 48-10 win over Arkansas. The freshman from Fort Payne, Alabama missed the first attempt of his career back on November 12, 2022, but since then has made 17 straight field goal attempts. That’s one more than the mark set by Daniel Carlson, the only three-time finalist in the history of the Lou Groza Award. Against Arkansas, McPherson was true from 39 and 31 and added six PATs for a 12-point game that ties for the most of any of the semifinalists this week. At 11-for-11 on field goals this year, he remains one of three FBS kickers yet to miss.
