Nevada’s Brandon Talton named a semifinalist for Lou Groza Award

Nevada placekicker Brandon Talton was one of 20 kickers selected as semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, which is annually given to the best kicker in college football, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced Monday. He was athe only kicker from the Mountain West to be chosen.

The qualifications that the committee required were: the kicker played in at least six games and had at least ten field goals through Week 14 (this most recent weekend).

Talton has missed just one of his 14 total field goal attempts this season — a 92.9 percent clip. His lone miss came on a 51-yarder versus San Diego State, which snapped a string of an NCAA-best 18 straight made field goals (dating back to 2019).

His 92.9 field goal percentage is second-best in the Mountain West and ranks seventh in the FBS. Talton has gone 24-for-25 on extra points this year.

The sophomore has been automatic for the Wolf Pack since stepping on campus, booting 34 of his 39 (87.2 percent) career attempts through the uprights. Among kickers that have attempted at least 35 field goal attempts since the start of 2019, his 87.2 percent trails only Wake Forest’s Nick Sciba (36-40; 90.0 percent) for the best in the nation.

The Vacaville, Calif. native is seventh in program history in career field goal makes (34) and is 10th in career kick scoring (153 points).