FWAA Nebraska News

This is the third installment of the Football Writers Association of America's weekly Freshman Focus for the Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach of the Year Award, Freshman Player of the Year and the 2023 FWAA Freshman All-America Team.

The Football Writers Association of America has released a list of top candidates for the Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach of the Year Award, Freshman Player of the Year and the 2023 FWAA Freshman All-America Team. The Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach Award, presented by Chris Doering Mortgage, goes to the best first-year coach (at his school) in FBS football. The recipients of the Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach of the Year, the FWAA Freshman of the Year and a Spurrier Legends Coach awardee will be honored at a special reception in Februray in Gainesville, Fla. 

Two first-time winners and nine previous ones comprise the 14th Super 11 Awards, which the Football Writers Association of America give out annually to the best performing College Sports Communicators departments in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The awards announced this week are for the 2022 season.

The Michigan Wolverines beat arch-rival Ohio State on the road for the first time since 2000 with a 45-23 win in Columbus. In outscoring the Buckeyes 28-3 in the second half and take the Big Ten East Division title for a second consecutive season, Michigan (12-0) earned the Cheez-It Bowl National Team of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Nov. 26, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

Three first-time winners and eight previous ones comprise the 13th Super 11 Awards, which the Football Writers Association of America gives out annually to the best performing sports information departments in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The awards announced this week are for the 2021 season. In addition, the FWAA presented a Super 11 Coach of the Year Award to Boston College Coach Jeff Hafley who granted outstanding access to his program during the 2021 season. He is the fourth head coach to win this award, which began with the 2018 season.