Palm Beach County Sports Commission

College football’s top kicking award, the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission recognizes three of the top kickers each week from FBS division teams as the “Stars of the Week.”

A Red Raider is charging into the lead in the race for recognition as the top place-kicker in college football. Junior Ryan Bustin kicked field goals of 31, 28, 25 and 23 yards in Texas Tech University’s 54-16 defeat of the University of Kansas in Big 12 action in Lawrence, Kansas. The Kilgore, Texas native added 6 PATs for an 18-point game, the most by any kicker in the nation this week, to earn his second “Star of the Week selection this season. He kicked four field goals last time out as well, marking two consecutive games in which he has tied the school record. Bustin has kicked 13 field goals in 15 attempts to take the national lead in field goals made, while his 63 points lead the nation in kick-scoring and rank second among all players in college football.

Kyle Brindza kicked three second-half field goals, including the go-ahead kick from 25 yards out with 3:03 remaining to help Notre Dame to its 37-34 defeat of Arizona State University in the traveling Shamrock Series, held this year in Arlington, Texas. The junior from Canton, Mich. tied a Notre Dame record with a 53 yarder that also matched the longest ever in a college game at the home of the Dallas Cowboys. It was the longest by a Fighting Irish kicker since 1976. Brindza also connected from 33 and 25 yards out and was 4-for-4 on extra point attempts. He leads the team in scoring with 40 points.

University of South Florida junior Marvin Kloss has been on a roll since missing his first field goal attempt of the season, converting seven in a row including the four he made in the Bulls’ 26-20 victory over the University of Cincinnati on Saturday in the inaugural American Athletic Conference game for the schools. The Naples, Fla. native connected on a career long 52-yard bomb, his second from beyond 50 this season. He is one of two players in the country with multiple 50 yard field goals without a miss from long distance. His 4-for-4 day also included kicks from 40, 25 and 24 yards out and added 4 PATs to bring his season scoring total to 30 points. 

The Lou Groza Award will be presented as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards in Orlando, Fla. on Thursday, December 12^th. The three finalists will be honored at the 22^nd Annual Lou Groza Awards Banquet on Tuesday, December 10^th at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. For more information on the Lou Groza Award, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, and to vote for your favorite Star of the Week, visit www.LouGrozaAward.com.  

National College Football Awards Association

The Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s official website, www.ncfaa.org.

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