Pac-12 Football Players of the Week – Week 12
OFFENSIVE: Joshua Kelley, Jr., RB, UCLA (Lancaster, Calif.)
• Kelley ran for a USC-UCLA rivalry best 289 yards on 40 carries (7.2 avg.) and two touchdowns to lead the Bruins to 34-27 victory.
• It was the third-most rushing yards in UCLA history. In the fourth quarter alone, Kelley ran for 104 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown which put the Bruins in the lead for good at 28-27. The 40 carries were tied for the third-most ever by a Bruin back.
• During the game, he went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season and registered a rushing touchdown in his seventh straight game (longest streak since Skip Hicks ran for a score in 14 straight games - last 8 in 1996, first 6 in 1997).
• Kelley ripped off the two longest runs of his career versus the Trojans (61 and 55 yards). He finished with 289 of UCLA’s total of 479 yards of total offense in the contest and produced 11 first downs with his runs.
Also nominated: Eno Benjamin, RB, ASU; Jaylen Dixon, WR, UTAH; Jake Browning, QB, WASH; Gardner Minshew II, QB, WSU
DEFENSIVE: Jahad Woods, So., LB, Washington State (San Diego, Calif.)
• Collected a team-best 11 tackles in WSU’s 69-28 win over Arizona.
• In addition to his tackles, which included eight solo tackles and .5 tackle-for-loss, Woods added a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
• On the first play of the game for Arizona, Woods shared a TFL while grabbing J.J. Taylor before the line of scrimmage.
• Late in the second quarter Woods ended an Arizona drive and on third and goal from the WSU 3, Woods forced a fumble, recovered by WSU in the end zone, ending the Wildcat threat.
• Early in the fourth quarter, WSU forced a fumble on the punt return, recovered by Woods, setting up a five-play, 22-yard scoring drive that pushed WSU’s lead to 62-28.
Also nominated: Aashari Crosswell, DB, ASU; Gus Cumberrlander, DL, ORE; Krys Barnes, LB, UCLA; Francis Bernard, LB, UTAH
SPECIAL TEAMS: Matt Gay, Sr., PK, Utah (Orem, Utah)
• Gay broke the Utah school record for consecutive field goals with makes of 51, 33 and 31 yards for 21 consecutive field goals before missing from 56 yards in the fourth quarter against Colorado.
• Gay’s 33-yard field goal in the third quarter gave Utah its first lead of the game at 10-7. His 51-yarder in the fourth quarter extended his school record for 50-plus yard field goals to seven.
• Gay scored 12 points in Utah’s 30-7 win against the Buffs. He is first in the Pac-12 and eighth nationally in total points scored this season (107).
• Gay is first in the Pac-12 and second nationally in field goals per game (2.09).
Also nominated: Brandon Ruiz, PK, ASU; JJ Molson, PK, UCLA; Kainoa Wilson, WR/KO