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.”
Andres Borregales may not have had the most field goals by a kicker this week, but arguably no one combined distance and importance as he did in Miami’s 29-26 overtime win against Virginia. The junior from Miami, Fla. twice tied the game in the fourth quarter, first with a 50-yarder and then a 48-yard kick to send the game to OT. Add those kicks to his 47-yard make in the first half and Borregales joined his brother, 2020 Groza winner Jose, as the only Hurricanes in the last decade with three field goals from at least 40 yards in the same game.
Virginia Tech jumped out to a big early lead thanks to three first-half field goals from John Love, who added two more late in the Hokies’ 38-10 win over Syracuse. The freshman from Spartanburg, S.C. was the only FBS kicker with five field goals this week. A 43-yarder marked his longest kick of the season, joined by makes from 39, 32, 31, and 24 yards in a 5-for-5 performance. He added three PATs for an 18-point game, the most in the nation this week. Love is tied for 7th in the country with 15 field goals on the season.
For the fourth time in his prolific career, Brandon Talton kicked four field goals, this time as Nevada topped New Mexico 34-24. The senior from Vacaville, Calif. set a new season-long with a 52-yarder to go along with makes from 47, 34, and 22 yards out. With the 4-FG performance, he regained his spot as the FBS active leader in career field goals with 78. With two PATs, his 14 points marked his first double-digit scoring game of the season and proved crucial in the 10-point win.
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 as well, Groza ushered in the notion that there should be a place on an NFL roster for a kicker.
