Jakob Anderson produced one of the standout Australian performances of the weekend, with the Rutgers punter completing a 40-yard pass on a fake punt against No. 11 USC. Facing fourth-and-21 from their own 16, Rutgers kept the offence off the field and handed the moment to Anderson, who found Jesse Ofurie for 40 yards and extended a drive that eventually ended in a touchdown.
It was Anderson’s first career passing attempt and completion, giving the East Melbourne product a memorable moment well outside his usual role. Rutgers eventually fell to USC, but the fake punt was one of several notable Australian contributions across the NFL and college football over the weekend.
At NFL level, Brett Thorson continued the encouraging start to his rookie season with Minnesota. The former Georgia punter was busy in the Vikings’ 9–3 win over Chicago, punting six times for 297 yards at an average of 49.5. His longest travelled 62 yards, two finished inside the 20 and none resulted in a touchback. Minnesota also used Thorson as the holder for all three of Will Reichard’s field goals, with his punting helping the Vikings control field position throughout a low-scoring game.
Australian punters meet at Wembley
Two Australians found themselves on opposite sides at Wembley Stadium, where Melbourne’s Nick McLarty and Sydney’s Matt Gill handled the punting duties in Arizona State’s 24–17 win over Kansas.
McLarty punted nine times for Arizona State, covering 382 yards at 42.4 yards per punt with a long of 52, while one finished inside the 20. The Sun Devils generated only 228 yards of offence and leaned heavily on defence and special teams, keeping McLarty involved throughout the game.
Freshman Gill punted five times for Kansas for 180 yards, averaging 36.0 with a long of 44. Australians lining up against each other in college football is becoming increasingly common, but doing it at Wembley Stadium gave this matchup a much more unusual setting.
Australian performances across college football
James Madison’s Patrick Rea was another Australian with plenty of work, punting six times for 248 yards against San Diego State. He averaged 41.3 yards and placed three of his six punts inside the 20 without a touchback. Michigan State’s Rhys Dakin also had a solid outing, punting four times for 181 yards at 45.2 per punt with a long of 57.
At FCS level, Patrick Cleary recorded his best single-game punting average of the season as Stony Brook beat Rhode Island. Cleary punted three times for 134 yards, averaging 44.7 with a long of 49, as Stony Brook knocked off a Rhode Island side ranked inside the national polls.
South Florida’s Luke Goater and Oregon’s Bailey Ettridge had fewer opportunities, but both placed punts inside the 20. Goater’s lone punt travelled 52 yards and was fair caught at the Delaware State 10, while Ettridge punted once for 30 yards in Oregon’s 84–0 win over Portland State.
Patu adds a defensive contribution
At junior-college level, Carsen Patu recorded three tackles for Dodge City, including involvement in stops close to the goal line, while Xavier Fauonuku also registered a tackle.
Their contributions provided some defensive representation in a weekend again dominated by Australian punters across the higher levels of college football.
Constantinou returns to Hamilton
There was also movement in Canada, with Melbourne punter Nik Constantinou returning to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after his stint with the Cleveland Browns. Constantinou previously played 36 games for Hamilton across the 2024 and 2025 seasons, averaging 47.6 yards from 192 punts.
More Australians in the NFL
Veteran Cameron Johnston was again busy for Pittsburgh, punting eight times for 385 yards at an average of 48.1, with three finishing inside the 20. Denver’s Jeremy Crawshaw remained part of the broader Australian NFL punting group.
From Anderson’s fake punt against USC to Thorson’s work in Minnesota and the Australian matchup at Wembley, the weekend again showed how widely Australian players are now spread across American football in the United States, Canada and beyond.