Nov. 6, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State senior standout Sam Ficken (Valparaiso, Ind.) has been selected as one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-kicker Award presented by the Orange Bowl. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission annually presents the Groza Award to college football's top kicker.
Ficken and Maryland's Brad Craddock are the Big Ten Conference's representatives among the Groza Award semifinalists.
The Lou Groza Collegiate Place-kicker Award was first presented in 1992 and is named in honor of Pro Football Hall of Famer Lou Groza, who played 21 seasons for the Cleveland Browns, and scored at least one point in 107 consecutive NFL games.
A candidate for the Big Ten Baaken-Andersen Kicker of the Year, Ficken was honored Monday as the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week after his 4 of 4 field goal performance in last Saturday's game with Maryland. Ficken was selected the conference's Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time this season and the fourth time in his career. His four career selections are tied for fifth place in Big Ten history.
Ficken ranks No. 3 in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in field goals made per game (17, 2.13 pg) and No. 10 in FG accuracy at 89.5% (17 of 19). He leads the Big Ten in field goals made, is No. 2 in field goal accuracy, No. 3 in kick scoring (8.5 ppg, 68 points) and No. 6 in conference overall scoring.
Ficken is leading the Nittany Lions in scoring for a third consecutive year, having scored 68 points on 17 of 19 field goals and 17 of 17 PAT attempts. Ficken is averaging 61.2 yards on his 41 kickoffs, with 18 touchbacks.
A co-captain, Ficken connected on all four of his field goal attempts in the 20-19 setback to the Terrapins to tie his career-high, which he set in the season opening win over UCF, the last time he was honored by the Big Ten. Ficken became the first Penn State kicker since at least 1982 to make three field goals of 45 yards or longer in a game when he connected on 46, 47 and 48-yard attempts vs. Maryland, in addition to a 25-yard attempt. He is the first Penn State placekicker to make three 40-plus yard field goals in a game since Collin Wagner had three against Youngstown State in 2011 (44, 48 and 49 yards).
Ficken's 48-yard field goal vs. Maryland was the second-longest of his career and gave Coach James Franklin's Nittany Lions a 19-17 lead with 6:52 to play in the game. He made a 47-yard attempt on Penn State's first possession, tied for the third longest of his career, and made a 46-yard field goal in the second quarter, tied for the fifth longest of his career.
The former Valparaiso High School standout has made 47 career field goals, moving him into a tie for third place in Penn State annals with Travis Forney. He passed Brett Conway (45) on the list last Saturday and Craig Fayak is second with 50 career field goals made.
Ficken's 13 points vs. Maryland moved him into sixth place on the Penn State career scoring list with 239 points. He passed Curtis Enis (230 points) and Robbie Gould (232) last week. Running back Lydell Mitchell is in fifth place with 246 career points and Forney is fourth with 258 points.
Ficken owns a 3.59 grade-point average in finance and is on schedule to graduate in December in 3 1/2 years. He was nominated for the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Fellowship and is a CoSIDA Academic All-America candidate.
The three Groza Award finalists will be announced on November 24 and honored at the 23rd annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on Dec. 9 in West Palm Beach, Fla. The winner will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 11.
For more information on the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, please visit LouGrozaAward.com, or follow @LouGrozaAward on Twitter.
Ficken will return to his home state as a Nittany Lion for the final time this Saturday, as Penn State visits Indiana for a 12 p.m. ET kick in Bloomington. The Big Ten East Division game will air on BTN, the Penn State Sports network (10:30 a.m. airtime) and GoPSUsports.com.
Tickets are available for Penn State's last two home games of the season: Nov. 15 vs. Temple (Military Appreciation Day/Seats For Soldiers) and the Nov. 29 Senior Day clash against No. 7 Michigan State. The kick times for both games are to be determined.
Fans can purchase Penn State tickets at PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office (weekdays, 10 a.m-6 p.m.). The Beaver Stadium ticket office, near Gate E, opens four hours before kickoff for all Penn State home games.
Penn State Football is on Twitter (@PennStateFball) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/PSUFball).