DALLAS (FWAA) – Indiana left offensive tackle Carter Smith helped pave the way for Indiana’s clinching scores and a sharp offensive effort Saturday in its dramatic 30-20 win at No. 3 Oregon. For his play in the Hoosiers’ first road win over a top-five-ranked team, Smith earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Oct. 11, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the third 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 2025 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 12. 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. 21, 2026.
The weekly winners, including Smith this week, are added to the preseason Outland Trophy watch list going forward. Indiana has had an Outland Trophy semifinalist in its past, offensive tackle Jason Spriggs from the 2015 season.
Smith, a 6-5, 313-pound redshirt junior from Powell, Ohio, has started all six games for Indiana (6-0) at left tackle within an offensive line that paved the way for four straight 300-yard rushing efforts to start the season, a program-record streak. The Hoosiers rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns at Oregon, their fifth game with multiple rushing touchdowns this season.
The win also snapped Oregon’s nation-leading 18-game home winning streak and a 23-game regular-season win streak. Smith helped protect Fernando Mendoza to the tune of 215 yards passing and the game-winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Following earlier ties at 10-10, 13-13 and finally 20-20 in the fourth quarter, Indiana scored the last 10 points to put the game away. Mendoza finished 20-for-31 for 211 yards, much of it to wide receiver Elijah Sarratt (8 rec., 121 yds., TD). Smith didn’t allow a pressure on the afternoon.
Smith continues to lead the Indiana line toward record heights. The Hoosiers are ninth in team rushing at 241.7 yards per game. and are fourth nationally in points per game at 44.8 and eighth in total offense, still averaging more than 500 total yards per game at 502.8 despite playing against two defenses regarded as among the nation’s best vs. Illinois (a 63-10 win) and at Oregon (the 30-20 win). Indiana posted 579 yards of total offense against Illinois, which included 312 yards rushing, marking a program-record fourth-straight game at the time with at least 300 yards rushing.
During Indiana’s magical 2024 season that ended in the College Football Playoff, Smith earned honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition from the conference media, starting all 13 games of his sophomore season. He anchored the left side of an offensive unit that set or tied program single-season records for most 40-point games (8), most total offensive touchdowns (70), most points scored (537) and rushing touchdown (tied; 37), and Indiana’s offensive line was named a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award.
Smith has made 31 consecutive starts now at left tackle dating back to the 2023 season opener.
Indiana, carrying a 6-0 record for only the third time in program history (1967, 2024), hosts Michigan State on Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. ET on Peacock.
The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from finalists who are a 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 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 are not eligible.
The Outland Trophy, celebrating 80 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 more than 950 recipients since 1935. For more information about the NCFAA, visit ncfaa.org.
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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.