Florida State center Luke Petitbon
DALLAS (FWAA) – Florida State spearheaded a fine start to its season Saturday with the 31-17 win over then-No. 8 Alabama, spurred by an offensive line that didn’t allow a sack for the first time in nearly two full seasons and rushed for 230 yards. At the helm of that line was redshirt senior center Luke Petitbon, who has earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Aug. 30, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the third 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 2025 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Friday, Dec. 12. 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. 21, 2026.
The weekly winners, including Petitbon this week, are added to the preseason Outland Trophy watch list going forward. This is the first time for a Florida State player to earn the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week. No Florida State player has won the Outland Trophy -- the Seminoles’ last finalist was guard Rodney Hudson in 2010.
Petitbon, a 6-2 center from Annapolis, Md., finished with an 85 percent job grade and 96 percent effort grade, accounting for seven knockdown blocks and seven blocks that led to either a touchdown or first down. He played all 63 offensive snaps against the Crimson Tide along with the rest of FSU’s offensive line, right tackle Micah Pettus, right guard Adrian Medley, left guard Richie Leonard IV and left tackle Gunnar Hansen.
The Seminoles rolled off 24 consecutive points after answering Alabama’s touchdown on its opening drive. When the Tide came back to within seven points at 24-17 with 11 minutes left, FSU’s line took over again to mount a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive highlighted by a fourth-and-one conversion at its own 34.
The line play and protection allowed quarterback Tommy Castellanos to win his FSU debut with an efficient 9-of-14 performance for 152 yards while also rushing for a team-high 78 yards. Four different players rushed for touchdowns among the Seminoles’ 230 ground yards, marking the first time an unranked team ran for four touchdowns in a win against Alabama since 1998.
Florida State’s win snapped Alabama’s 23-game win streak in season openers.
FSU hosts East Texas A&M (0-1) at noon ET Saturday on the ACC Network.
The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from finalists who are a 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 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 are not eligible.
The Outland Trophy, celebrating its 80th season 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 Bronko Nagurski 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 more than 950 recipients since 1935.. This season, 13 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.
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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 1,300 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.