University of Hawai‘i kicker Kansei Matsuzawa fell short of the Lou Groza Award on Friday, given to college football's top kicker.
Oklahoma's Tate Sandell won the 2025 Lou Groza Award, which was revealed live during ESPN's College Football Awards show on Friday.
Matsuzawa, Hawai‘i's 26-year-old self-taught YouTube kicker from Japan, made 25 of his 26 field goal attempts in 2025, his lone blemish a miss in a 27-7 victory over Wyoming on Nov. 29.
His 25 consecutive field goals to begin the season matched an FBS record, while his field goal percentage of 96.2 led the country.
Sandell, the winner of the award, went 23-for-24 on field goals, including 7-for-7 on 50-yarders. Matsuzawa's lone attempt from over 50 yards was a 52-yard make against Fresno State on Sept. 20.
Along with Matsuzawa and Sandell, the other Groza finalist was Georgia Tech's Aidan Birr, who was 25-for-28 on field goals and 42-for-42 on extra point attempts. Along with Matsuzawa, he led the country in field goal makes.
During ESPN's College Football Awards show, it was also revealed that Matsuzawa was named the Walter Camp first-team All-American kicker.
Matsuzawa and the Rainbow Warriors will conclude their 2025 campaign in the Hawai‘i Bowl against California on Christmas Eve at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
