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.”
Alex Hale matched Oklahoma State’s program record with five field goals in the Cowboys’ 29-21 win over Kansas State on Friday. The senior from Point Frederick, Australia, also tied his career-long with a 53-yard make among them, to go with connections from 43, 34, 31, and 25 yards out. He is the first Oklahoma State kicker with five field goals in a game since 2012. The 53-yard field goal is his third long-distance kick of the season. He added two PATs for a crucial 17-point performance, the most by a kicker this week.
For the second time this season, Brock Travelstead knocked home four field goals, in Louisville’s 33-20 upset of Notre Dame. The junior from Acworth, Ga. also made four in the season opener, making him the first kicker in program history with multiple 4-FG games in the same year. All four came in the second half, with a 44-yarder tying the game in the third quarter, and then late kicks from 45, 35, and 32 to help Louisville pull away. Travelstead and teammate Jawhar Jordan each have an ACC-leading 54 points this season.
Georgia pushed its FBS-leading regular season win streak to 33 with the help of three field goals from Peyton Woodring in the Bulldogs’ 51-13 win over Kentucky. The freshman from Lafayette, La. has big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of multi-year Groza semifinalist Jack Podlesny and 2019 Groza winner Rodrigo Blankenship. But after a shaky start going 2-for-5 in his first two games, Woodring is 5-for-5 in his last two, including kicks from 42, 36, and 32 this week. He added six PATs for a 15-point game and is a perfect 31-for-31 on extra-point attempts this season.
The Award is named for National Football League Hall of Fame kicker Lou “The Toe” Groza, who played 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Groza won four NFL championships with Cleveland and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1954. Although an All-Pro offensive lineman, Groza ushered in the notion that there should be a place on an NFL roster for a kicker.
