FWAA News from Steve Richardson News

Indiana’s Aiden Fisher is this week’s nominee for the 2024 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. Fisher, a junior linebacker, has overcome the loss of both his father and his stepfather to lead the Big Ten in tackles.

Offensive tackle Gunnar Hansen helped Vanderbilt hold the ball and maintain drives against No. 1 Alabama last Saturday, leading to the season’s most surprising upsets as the Commodores kept scoring and never trailed in a 40-35 takedown of the Crimson Tide. For his top blocking grades and leadership up front in the Commodores’ first win over a top-ranked team in program history, Hansen earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games played the weekend of Oct. 5, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

Syracuse defensive end Fadil Diggs came up with a third-down sack in overtime that forced No. 25 UNLV to settle for a field goal, creating the opportunity for the Orange to grab a ranked win on the road, 44-41. For tying his career-high with two sacks and his play on the defensive front, Diggs earned the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Oct. 5, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

Florida Citrus Sports and Pop-Tarts have teamed up to present the Pop-Tarts ‘Crazy Good’ Play of the Week during the 2024-25 college football season, with each week's play selected in conjunction with the Football Writers Association of America. Texas A&M is the winner of the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Play of the Week for Week 6.

Dave Jones wins FWAA Lifetime Achievement Award 

Michigan State’s Armorion Smith is this week’s nominee for the 2024 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. Smith, a redshirt junior defensive back, is helping to raise five siblings after the recent passing of his mother.

Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter was an unwanted nemesis in the Illinois backfield last Saturday, logging a career-high four tackles for loss as well as two sacks as the Nittany Lions won their Big Ten Conference opener, 21-7. For his efforts in shutting down the upstart Illini, Carter earned the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week honor for games played the weekend of Sept. 28, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

Notre Dame defensive tackle Howard Cross III helped contain Louisville’s high-powered offense and was the nation’s top-graded interior defensive lineman against the pass as the Fighting Irish improved to 4-1 with a 31-24 win over the Cardinals. For his shut-down play and grade, Cross earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Sept. 28, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

Florida Citrus Sports and Pop-Tarts have teamed up to present the Pop-Tarts ‘Crazy Good’ Play of the Week during the 2024-25 college football season, with each week's play selected in conjunction with the Football Writers Association of America. Minnesota is the winner of the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Play of the Week for Week 5.

Veteran Chris Low of ESPN.com and Texas A&M beat reporter Travis L. Brown have been named co-winners of the FWAA's Steve Ellis Beat Writer of the Year Award for the 2023 season, the association announced on Thursday.

Six members of the Football Writers Association of America have won two awards each in the association's 32nd Annual Best Writing Contest presented by collegepressbox. Included in the group were three first-place winners who also picked up honorable mentions in other categories.

2023 Best Writing Contest Winner (Enterprise): The door swung open before he could knock, just as it had the first time Isimemen "Isi" Etute visited Apartment 207. That time, Etute had come for sex. Now, he wanted answers. It was May 31, 2021, just after 10 p.m., and the apartment above Hokie Mart on North Main Street in Blacksburg, Virginia, was dark, save for a hint of light sneaking through a kitchen window.

2023 Best Writing Contest Winner (Column): It is a weird time in college athletics, perhaps the weirdest ever. Let’s count the ways, shall we?

2023 Beat Writing Contest Winner (Game Story): Start with the bittersweet, because the backdrop of this top-five clash of titans was always going to have a hint of melancholy.

2023 Beat Writing Contest Winner (Feature): Dwight Flanagan can still see the faces. He has gone back through old game programs and racked his brain to put the faces with the names. He simply can't do it.

Navy linebacker Colin Ramos made 20 tackles Saturday in the Midshipmen’s 56-44 win over No. 23 Memphis, the highest total by any player in the Football Bowl Subdivision this season. For the career-high mark that was central to Navy’s first win over a ranked opponent since 2022, Ramos earned the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week honor for games played the weekend of Sept. 21, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell had the highest pass blocking grade of any offensive tackle in the Tigers’ 34-17 win over UCLA. For his standout play in one of the weekend’s most-watched intersectional games, Campbell has earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games played the weekend of Sept. 21, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

Florida Citrus Sports and Pop-Tarts have teamed up to present the Pop-Tarts ‘Crazy Good’ Play of the Week during the 2024-25 college football season, with each week's play selected in conjunction with the Football Writers Association of America. With two dramatic plays, Colorado is the winner of the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Play of the Week for Week 4.

The James Madison Dukes stunned the college football world with a 70-point explosion in Chapel Hill on Saturday, as JMU defeated an ACC team on the road for the second straight season with its 70-50 win over North Carolina. As a result, JMU is the Cheez-It National Team of the Week for games played the weekend of Sept. 21, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.

Two of the historically-best programs for producing interior linemen clashed last week in Madison, Wis., but it was the Alabama Crimson Tide doing most of the pushing around in a 42-10 win over the Badgers. For creating the protection that turned its offense loose in a 407-total-yard effort with its mix of underclassman in the starting lineup, the Football Writers Association of America is awarding its Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor to the entire Crimson Tide offensive line representing the games during the weekend of Sept. 14.