Lewis has been named a preseason candidate for the Doak Walker Award, with the race for college football’s top running back honor set to unfold across the season.
The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will announce 10 semifinalists in November, followed by three finalists later that month, based on voting from the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee. That same committee will vote again in December to determine the winner, and the 2026 Doak Walker Award will be revealed live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 10.
The National Selection Committee is made up of past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members and selected special representatives.
The award carries the name of SMU’s three-time All-America running back Doak Walker. During the season, The PwC SMU Athletic Forum will also continue its weekly recognition, naming a Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week each Tuesday.
The forum has spent 37 years honoring sports legends and celebrating excellence in athletics. Based in Dallas, it features prominent figures from a wide range of sports and also stages annual receptions along with the Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet.
The Doak Walker Award is part of the National College Football Awards Association, which includes college football’s most prestigious honors. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have recognized nearly 1,000 recipients since 1935, and this season 12 of those awards will name national players of the week each Tuesday.
Sixteen NCFAA members are rolling out preseason watch lists over a three-week span as part of a coordinated effort to spotlight each award’s preseason candidates. The next date on that calendar is Friday, Aug. 21, when the Bednarik Award watch list is set to be announced.
In Other News...
Virginia Is Being Overlooked Again As Doubts Return Before NC State
Virginia opened the 2026 college football preseason feeling a little too familiar for its own liking. Despite coming off an 11-3 season and bringing back much of that roster, the Cavaliers were left out of the AP top 25 and picked up only one vote, which tied them for 47th overall. Around the ACC, Miami, SMU and Louisville all cracked the preseason rankings, while Ohio State landed at No. 1 and Virginia was once again pushed into the prove-it lane.
That is the backdrop as NC State looms, and it is not hard to see why the Cavaliers will have to earn every bit of respect they get. The returning production gives Virginia a real case to make, but preseason polls are not built on cases, only perception, and the early perception is that last years success does not buy much this time around. Now the question is whether Virginia can turn another overlooked start into something more convincing once the games begin. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Gives Steve Swanson A Milestone Win To Open The Year
Virginia opened the season with a clean start at Klckner Stadium, beating Liberty 2-0 behind goals from Addison Halpern and Allie Ross. The win carried extra weight for Steve Swanson, who reached 400 victories as the Cavaliers head coach, another reminder of how long Virginia has been one of the sports steadier programs under his watch.
Halpern scored first for the second consecutive game, giving Virginia an early edge, and Ross added both a goal and an assist to help settle the match. For a team trying to establish its rhythm right away, the result offered the kind of composed opener Swanson has built his tenure around, while also setting up a season that now begins with a milestone already in the rearview. [Read more 🡒]