DALLAS (FWAA) – Texas offensive tackle Trevor Goosby was a catalyst of Texas’ dramatic 24-23 comeback win over No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday, anchoring the protection for Arch Manning to engineer three consecutive touchdown drives to end the game and bring the Longhorns back from a 20-ponit deficit. For his top-scoring blocking grade and backfield security, Goosby earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Sept. 12, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the fourth 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 2026 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 11. 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. 27, 2027.
The weekly winners are added to the preseason Outland Trophy watch list going forward. Goosby was already a member of that list.
Goosby, a 6-foot-7, 325-pound senior from Melissa, Texas, was the Longhorns’ top-graded lineman with the nation’s highest grades per PFF at 87.0 on 46 pass blocks. He didn’t allow a sack and only allowed one quarterback pressure as Texas rallied behind quarterback Arch Manning to notch the first 20-plus-point comeback in the fourth against a No. 1 team in 22 years.
Goosby’s impact was most important in the fourth quarter, as each of the Longhorns’ three consecutive touchdown drives to end the game took at least 12 plays and covered at least 72 yards to overcome a 23-3 deficit. The first two drives (15 and 13 plays) included clutch fourth-down conversions in Texas territory to keep the rally alive.
In the fourth quarter alone, Goosby and the offensive line helped the Longhorns compile 150 yards of total offense – 83 passing and 67 rushing – in outgaining the Buckeyes, 150-52. Including the final drive of the third quarter, Texas totaled 236 total yards in the last 21 minutes of the game. The Longhorns became the only team in the past 15 years to close a victory with three-straight touchdown drives of 12 or more plays.
The win was the third-largest comeback win by any FBS team against an AP No. 1 team this century, while Texas became the first non-conference opponent this century to score 21-plus points in the fourth quarter against Ohio State.
Texas has five Outland Trophy winners in its past, most recently back-to-back winners in offensive tackle Kelvin Banks (2024) and defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat (2023). Banks was the most recent of Texas’ two other Outland Trophy National Players of the Week, earning it the weekend of Oct. 12, 2024. Jake Majors, a center, also earned it in the 2024 season.
The FWAA will announce the Outland Trophy semifinalists on Nov. 18, and those players will then be paired down to three finalists announced on Nov. 24. The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from those finalists who will be 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 the 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 and edge rushers are not eligible.
The Outland Trophy, celebrating 81 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 nearly 1,000 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information or follow on X 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 1,200 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.