DALLAS (FWAA) – Penn State notched a 31-0 home win over Iowa behind an offensive line that is allowing the Nittany Lions to reach historic heights so far this season. Offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu is the stalwart up front at Penn State, which has scored at least 30 points in 11 consecutive games for only the second time in program history. For creating the FBS’ longest active streak of 30-plus-point games, Fashanu earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Sept. 23, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
For the first time, the FWAA is selecting an Outland Trophy National Player of the Week as part of the NCFAA's weekly national honors from 12 awards. The recipient of the 2023 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 7 or 8. 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. 11, 2024.
Players may be added or removed from the watch list during the season. Fashanu was a member of the preseason watch list. Other weekly winners will be part of the Outland Trophy watch list going forward.
Fashanu, a 6-6, 317-pound junior from Waldorf, Md., and a team captain, has helped Penn State (4-0) score in 28 consecutive quarters, a streak going back to its Nov. 19 game last season against Rutgers. The 28-quarter streak is another that is the longest current streak in the FBS this season. This is only the fifth time in Big Ten Conference history for a team to string together 11 or more games of 30+ points. The only other time Penn State has achieved it was in 1993-94 – Fashanu and this team aims to threaten that 15-game school record.
Penn State held the ball for 45:27 in the Iowa game as Fashanu and the offensive line dominated the line. They created gaps for a 215-yard rushing effort and Penn State scored on four drives of 10 or more plays, something the Nittany Lions had not done since the 2021 season. The protection Fashanu has provided has assisted in Penn State not committing a turnover this season, the only FBS team remaining this season without having turned it over.
The Nittany Lions have a former Outland Trophy winner in defensive tackle Mike Reid in 1969. The last offensive lineman to earn FWAA All-America honors was center A.Q. Shipley in 2008. The Nittany Lions have had an FWAA All-American in eight of the past 10 seasons, but Shipley is the lone PSU offensive lineman to make the postseason team of the past 36 seasons.
Penn State travels to Northwestern on Saturday for a noon ET game on the Big Ten Network.
The Outland Trophy, celebrating 78 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. 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, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit the redesigned NCFAA.org or follow on Twitter 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 1,300 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. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.