Elite Michigan player snubbed from top positional award despite stellar season
I understand that the Michigan Wolverines aren't having the best season in 2024, sitting at 6-5 right before The Game. They aren't drawing the attention they were last season in their national championship run, which is only natural with their dismal season. With that being said…why in the world is Dominic Zvada not a finalist […]
I understand that the Michigan Wolverines aren't having the best season in 2024, sitting at 6-5 right before The Game. They aren't drawing the attention they were last season in their national championship run, which is only natural with their dismal season.
With that being said…why in the world is Dominic Zvada not a finalist for the Lou Groza Award?
I usually tune out a lot of the awards because most of the time I disagree with the nominations, but I'm rarely surprised to learn who is named a finalist. With this one, however, I'm not just surprised. I'm utterly flabbergasted.
Let's compare resumes. Zvada has the same field goal percentage as Raynor, except he has been perfect from beyond 50+ despite attempting four more from that range than Raynor did. His FG percentage would beat out both Fitzgerald and Almendares. Zvada has missed one extra point all year.
His lone miss on both field goals and his extra points were blocked kicks. Otherwise, he was outpacing former Lou Groza winner and fellow Michigan kicker Jake Moody in virtually every stat.
In fact, Zvada was doing something that only three kickers in all of football had done this season.
Just stack up his numbers against everyone else's, and there's no justification for him not to be even a finalist for the award.
| Kicker | Extra Points | Overall Field Goals | Field Goals 20-29 | Field Goals 30-39 | Field Goals 40-49 | Field Goals 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dominic Zvada, Michigan | 24-25 (96%) | 15-16 (93.75%) | 2-3 (66.7%) | 5-5 (100%) | 2-2 (100%) | 6-6 (100%) |
Kenneth Almendares, Louisiana | 36-36 (100%) | 22-24 (91.6%) | 6-6 (100%) | 7-7 (100%) | 6-6 (100%) | 2-4 (50%) |
Ryan Fitzgerald, Florida State | 14-14 (100%) | 12-13 (92.3%) | 5-5 (100%) | 2-2 (100%) | 0-1 (0%) | 5-5 (100%) |
Alex Raynor, Kentucky | 24-25 (96%) | 15-16 (93.75%) | 2-2 (100%) | 7-8 (87.5%) | 4-4 (100%) | 2-2 (100%) |
Is it fair to punish Zvada for two blocked kicks, especially with one of them being a bad hold? I think that's an insane standard to keep. Otherwise, Zvada wouldn't have missed a single kick all season.
He should be a finalist. Nobody is kicking better than Zvada this season. It's criminal he didn't even finish in the top three and it mars the credibility of the award and the voting process entirely.
