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Pac-12 announces football players of the week

Sep 8, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO - Quarterback Marcus Mariota of OREGON, defensive end Leonard Williams of USC and kicker Andre Heidari of USC have been named offensive, defensive and special teams Pac-12 Players of the Week in football.

Mariota, a junior from Honolulu, Hawai’i, completed 17 of 28 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns and added nine carries for 42 yards in Oregon’s victory over No. 7 Michigan State. Mariota completed seven of 12 passes for two TDs in the second half to pull the Ducks from a nine-point deficit to a 46-27 win. In the third quarter Mariota improvised for a remarkable 17-yard flip pass to Royce Freeman on third down to inject momentum into a team that capped its next three drives with scores.

Williams, a junior from Daytona Beach, Fla., a 2013 All-American first teamer whose playing status against No. 13 Stanford was in doubt because of a sprained ankle he suffered in practice this past Tuesday, started and played most of the game. He had a game-high 11 tackles with a sack that came on the Cardinal’s final drive of the game, which preserved the Trojans’ 13-10 victory.

Heidari, a senior from Bakersfield, Calif., nailed a career-long 53-yard field goal (tied for the third longest in USC history) with 2:30 to play to give USC a 13-10 win at No. 13 Stanford. It was the second consecutive year that USC defeated the Cardinal on a Heidari field goal.  Heidari made a 47-yarder last year with 19 seconds to go. Against the Cardinal on Saturday, he also hit an earlier 25-yard field goal and a PAT, plus he had a touchback on one of his four kickoffs.

2014 Player of the Week History

Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams
Sept. 1 Cody Kessler, USC Eric Kendricks, UCLA Kaelin Clay, UTAH

Also nominated for Special Teams Player of the Week: Casey Skowron, PK, ARIZ; Bryce McGovern, ST, CAL; Will Oliver, PK, COLO, Ishmael Adams, DB, UCLA; Tom Hackett, P, UTAH

Also nominated for Defensive Player of the Week: Jared Tevis, S, ARIZ; Laiu Moeakiola, LB, ASU; Joe Walker, LB, ORE; Michael Doctor, LB, OSU; Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA; Hunter Dimick, DE, UTAH, Danny Shelton, NT, WASH

Also nominated for Offensive Player of the Week: Nick Wilson, RB, ARIZ; D.J. Foster, RB, ASU; Jared Goff, QB, CAL; Nelson Spruce, WR, COLO; Terron Ward, RB, OSU; Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA; Javorius Allen, RB, USC; Travis Wilson, QB, UTAH