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.”
The season’s first five-field-goal performance came from Liam Boyd in Michigan State’s 30-20 victory over Toledo. It’s the most field goals by a Spartan in their team debut and just the fifth time in program history that a kicker made at least five in one game. The fifth-year kicker from Asheville, North Carolina matched or broke his career long three times in the game, hitting from 42 on his second kick, then from 48 yards, and making his first career long-distance kick on his final attempt from 51 yards out.
For a few moments, it seemed Dieter Kelly had accounted for all the scoring needed for Western Michigan to complete one of college football’s biggest upsets, but a second-chance Hail Mary saw his 4-for-4 performance ultimately end on the wrong side of a 13-12 loss to Michigan. Trailing 7-0, the junior from Irvine, California rattled off makes from 52, 45, 39 and 33 yards out, the last of which came with just 35 seconds left to give the Broncos a 12-7 lead ahead of the weekend’s most talked-about final sequence. It was Kelly’s first FBS game after two seasons as a Junior College All-American at San Mateo.
Derek Morris helped UMass snap the nation’s longest losing streak, making three field goals in the Minutemen’s 37-21 road win over Rutgers for the program’s first victory over an FBS opponent since 2023. The junior from Dayton, Ohio connected from 52, 31 and 30 yards out, the first time a UMass kicker has made three field goals in a game in almost exactly two years. While the 52 yarder obviously set a season-long in the year’s first game, Morris is becoming known for his big leg, having twice broken the program record for long field goals with makes from 53 and then 55 last 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 as well, Groza ushered in the notion that there should be a place on an NFL roster for a kicker.
For more information on the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award and to see the “Stars of the Week” throughout the season, please go to www.lougrozaaward.com. For even more updates on the best kicking performances throughout the season, follow @LouGrozaAward on Twitter.
National College Football Awards Association
The Lou Groza Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored nearly 1,000 recipients since 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.
For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA and Instagram @TheNCFAA.
About the Palm Beach County Sports Commission
The Palm Beach County Sports Commission is a private, not-for-profit organization contracted by Palm Beach County to promote and market the County as a sports and sports tourism destination. The Commission brings sporting events and activities to the County, enhances economic impact, stimulates bed tax revenues (primarily in the off-season), and maximizes utilization of County facilities. The Commission offers a full range of event service support, corporate partnerships, sponsorships, and a local membership program that supports its goals. Local, regional, national, and international marketing efforts are ongoing by the Commission with sports organizations and event owners. The Commission also produces sports-related programs for the residents of Palm Beach County including the annual Lou Groza Award program, the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame, and the Kids Fitness Festival of the Palm Beaches. For more information on the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, go to www.palmbeachsports.com.