Palm Beach County Sports Commission

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

Oklahoma’s Gabe Brkic opened his season by tying an FBS record, kicking three field goals of fifty yards or more in a single game to highlight the Sooners’ 40-35 defeat of Tulane in Norman, Okla. on Saturday. The junior from Chardon, Ohio hit from 26, 51 and 56 yards all in the second quarter and added a 55 yarder to finish the game 4-for-5 and tie the school record for makes in a game. The 56-yard bomb by the two-time Lou Groza Award semifinalist is the school’s longest field goal since 1977. He converted four PATs for a 16-point game.

Jonathan Doerer showed his mettle under pressure when he made a 41-yard field goal to give Notre Dame a 41-38 overtime victory over Florida State on the road in Tallahassee, Fla. on Sunday night. The Charlotte, N.C. native had also connected from 48 yards in the second quarter to cut an early deficit after the Seminoles had scored 14 unanswered points. Back for his super senior season, Doerer also made his five PAT attempts for an 11-point game.

UNLV kicker Daniel Gutierrez tied a school record by making four field goals in the Rebels’ 35-33 double overtime loss to Eastern Washington in Las Vegas on Thursday night. The former walk-on from Los Angeles connected from 22, 47, 48 and 51 yards out. The 51 yarder is a career long.  Gutierrez scored the Rebels’ first 12 points of the game, helping them to mount a comeback effort that just fell short. He also made his lone PAT attempt for a 13-point game.

2020 Lou Groza Award finalist Will Reichard extended his nation-leading streak of consecutive field goals to 18 with three makes in Alabama’s 44-13 rout of the University of Miami in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta on Saturday. The junior from Hoover, Ala. connected from 38, 40 and 51 yards out and made all five of his PAT attempts. The 51-yard boot was the second longest of his career. Since the start of the 2020 season, Reichard has not missed a kick, whether a field goal attempt or point-after conversion, for a string of 106 straight makes.

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 Collegiate Place-Kicker Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit NCFAA.org and @NCFAA on Twitter to learn more about the association.

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 support 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, the Kids Fitness Festival of the Palm Beaches, and the annual Holiday Basketball Classic of the Palm Beaches. For more information on the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, go to www.palmbeachsports.com.