Palm Beach County Sports Commission Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award

Lou Groza Award “Stars of the Week” for Week 4

Sept. 24, 2024 (WEST PALM BEACH) – 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.”

Emmet Kenney’s fourth field goal of the game gave Stanford its first ACC victory, a 26-24 road win over Syracuse. The senior from Fargo, N.D. connected from 39 yards out as time expired for his first career game-winner. It followed makes from 38, 35 and a new career-long of 51 yards. He added two PATs for a 14-point performance that accounted for more than half of Stanford’s scoring. Kenney has kicked multiple field goals in every game this season, and at 8-for-8 on the year, he’s one of just three FBS kickers still perfect on at least that many attempts.

Seth Morgan tied things up with 32 seconds left, and then knocked through an overtime road winner for Tulsa, 23-20 over Louisiana Tech. The senior from Houston, Texas hit from a season-long 45 yards out with just seconds left to force the extra period, and provided the exclamation point from 34 yards out. It’s the first time Tulsa won an overtime game on a field goal since 2009. Add in an early field goal from 32 and two PATs and the game gives Morgan a team-leading 29 points on the season.

Collin Rogers added to an early claim as the season’s best long-distance kicker with makes from 51, 49 and 45 yards in SMU’s 66-42 win over TCU. The junior from Prattville, Ala. now has an FBS-leading 4 field goals from over 50 yards, as well as a national-best 8 field goals from at least 40 yards out. That total in fact gives him more kicks from over 40 than all but a dozen other kickers have made from any distance this year. On a program level, his 3-FG,topAT performance moved him to the tops of the record books: he’s now SMU’s all-time career leader in both categories.

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 the Lou Groza Award on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram at @LouGrozaAward.

National College Football Awards Association

The Lou Groza Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards, and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 13 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.

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