Missouri’s Green is Outland Trophy National Player of the Week

Missouri’s Green is Outland Trophy National Player of the Week

DALLAS (FWAA) – Cayden Green provided complete protection from his offensive tackle spot Saturday, sufficient to assist Missouri in rolling up 220 rushing yards and 560 total yards in its 45-17 romp over No. 8 Florida. For his mistake-free play in Missouri’s first regular-season win over a top-10 team since 2013, Green earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Oct. 3, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

This is the fourth season for the FWAA to select an Outland Trophy National Player of the Week as part of the NCFAA’s weekly national honors from 12 awards. The recipient of the 2026 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 11. The official presentation to the winner will be made at the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner sponsored by Werner Enterprises and produced by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee in Omaha, Neb., on Jan. 27, 2027.

The 6-foot-5, 324-pound senior from Lee’s Summit, Mo., didn’t allow a sack, a hit on the quarterback or a QB pressure on the Tigers’ 33 pass attempts, continuing his streaks of not having given up a hit on the quarterback or a sack from his position this season. Green graded at 89 percent for the game by the Missouri coaching staff. That protection allowed Tigers quarterback Austin Simmons hit on 23-of-30 passing attempts for 340 yards, including a pair of first-half touchdowns as Missouri took control in the middle quarters with an unanswered 35-point spree.

Green is a three-year starter on the Tigers’ offensive line and in his second season starting at left tackle. Missouri is tied for fourth in the SEC currently giving up only 1.20 sacks per game (6.0 total) and tied for 33rd nationally.

Green is the second Missouri player to earn the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor – the other was guard Dominick Giudice, selected in the second week of the 2025 season. The weekly winners are added to the award’s preseason watch list going forward. Green was already a preseason member of that list.

Missouri has not had an Outland Trophy winner or finalist in its past.

The FWAA will announce the Outland Trophy semifinalists on Nov. 18, and those players will then be paired down to three finalists announced on Nov. 24. The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from those finalists who will be part of the annual FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects a 26-man first team and eventually the three Outland finalists. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner. Only interior linemen on offense or defense are eligible for the award; ends and edge rushers are not eligible.

The Outland Trophy, celebrating 81 years since its founding, is the third-oldest major college football award. Created in 1946 when Dr. John Outland presented the FWAA with a financial contribution to initiate the award, the Outland Trophy has been given to the best interior lineman in college football ever since Dr. Outland, an All-American at the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1890s, eventually took up practice in Kansas City, Mo. An avid outdoorsman, Dr. Outland believed linemen did not get the credit they deserved and wanted an award to recognize them.

The Outland Trophy 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. Visit NCFAA.org for more information or follow on X at @NCFAA.

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The Greater Omaha Sports Committee, founded in 1977, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, consisting of more than 1,300 men and women from the City of Omaha, the State of Nebraska, and others. The Committee serves to communicate, develop, initiate and promote sports activities in the Greater Omaha sports area. In addition to the Outland Trophy Award Events and Dinner, the Greater Omaha Sports Committee promotes high school, college, and professional sports in the Greater Omaha area and the Midwest.  For more information contact Bob Mancuso Jr., Chairman at bmancuso@showofficeonline.com or see showofficeonline.com.

Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,200 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team.