South Carolina punter Mason Love makes weekly national award list again

This weekend, South Carolina lost a tight one to the Alabama Crimson Tide, 29-22. Redshirt freshman Mason Love had another good day with his right foot, earning inclusion on the Ray Guy Award’s “Ray’s 8” for the second time this season.

On four kicks, Love averaged 47 yards per punt. Three of his attempts were not returnable, and the fourth resulted in a return that lost five yards for Alabama. Those numbers could have looked even better, as one of Love’s kicks touched down out of bounds about a yard beyond the field of play before bouncing about 20 yards further.

Had the Gamecocks held on, one of the game-changing plays would have been a punt. In the fourth quarter, a Love boot bounced off an Alabama blocker, and then Nyck Harbor jumped on the loose ball. That led to South Carolina’s final touchdown that put the team up, 22-14.

For the season, Mason Love is second nationally among all freshmen punters and has been one of the top legs in the SEC this year. He is averaging over 45 yards per attempt and has also done a good job as the team’s holder on field goals and PATs. Love currently has a better punting average than the three top punters in program history–Kai Kroeger, Joseph Charlton, and Max Runager–had as freshmen.

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From the South Carolina Athletics release:

COLUMBIA, S.C. (October 27, 2025) – Following his performance against fourth-ranked Alabama, University of South Carolina punter Mason Love has been named one of “Ray’s 8” for the second time this season, the Ray Guy Award announced today.

Love, a 6-1, 181-pound redshirt freshman from Riverside, Mo., had four punts against the Crimson Tide on Saturday. He averaged 47.0 yards with a long of 49. The Gamecocks posted a net punting average of 48.2 yards per punt.

It was the second time this season that Love has been recognized as one of the nation’s top eight punters, also earning the distinction following his efforts at LSU.

For the season, Love is averaging 45.2 yards per punt, second among all Division I freshmen in the country. He has pinned the opponents inside the 20-yard line a dozen times, while 10 of his kicks have traveled 50 yards or more. Carolina ranks ninth in the nation in net punting at 43.7 yards per punt.

Love and the Gamecocks (3-5, 1-5 SEC) will be in action again this week when they travel to Oxford, Miss. for a Saturday, Nov. 1, date with the No. 7/8 Ole Miss Rebels (7-1, 4-1 SEC). Game time is set for 7 pm ET (6 pm CT) and the contest will be televised nationally on ESPN.

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