Pac-12 Performance Awards, presented by Nextiva - Football Week Three

The Pac-12 today announced its 2023 football season's third weekly performance awards, presented by Nextiva. See below for Week Three's recognitions across the Conference and keep track of the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year watchlist here:

OFFENSE:  Michael Penix, Jr., Sr., QB, Washington (Tampa, Fla.)

• Continued his incredible start to the season, leading Washington to a 41-7 rout of Michigan State in East Lansing.
• 27-for-35 for 473 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, and wasn't sacked for the second game in a row. 
• 473 yards were third-most in Washington history (behind only two other Penix totals from last year), despite the fact that he left the game midway through the third quarter due to the lopsided score. 
• Washington's 713 yards of total offense were also third in school history, and the most ever surrendered by a Michigan State team.
• Fourth time Penix has won this award after taking it home 3 times last season.  It's the second-most ever by a Husky behind former RB Napoleon Kaufmann who was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week 6 times between 1992-94.

Also nominated: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado; Cameron Ward, QB, Washington State; Isaiah Ifranse, RB, California; Anthony Adkins, RB, UCLA, Anthony Gould, WR, Oregon State; Bo Nix, QB, Oregon; Nate Johnson, QB, Utah; Jayden de Laura, QB, Arizona

Check out the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year Watchlist, presented by Nextiva, to learn more. 

DEFENSE:  Shilo Sanders., Gr., Safety, Colorado (Canton,Texas)

• Played a pivotal role in the Buffaloes' victory over CSU by returning an 80-yard interception and forcing a crucial fumble.  
• First career interception converted for a touchdown. 
• First Colorado player with an interception return for touchdown since Carson Wells in 2021.
• Second time in three weeks that a Colorado player has won this award after Travis Hunter was honored in Week 1.

Also nominated: Lander Barton, LB, Utah; Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, ILB, Oregon State; Khyree Jackson, DB, Oregon; Choé Bryant-Strother, DL, UCLA; Justin Flowe, LB, Arizona, Prince Dorbah, DE, Arizona State; Xavier Carlton, OLB, California

SPECIAL TEAMS:  Jack Bouwmeester, So., P, Utah (Bendigo, Australia)

• Punted three times with a long of 60 yard, his third 60-yarder of the season. 
• Pinned Weber State inside its 20-yard line once. 
• After having just one 50-plus-yard punt in 2022, has six boots of 50-plus yards on 13 total attempts this season.
• Fourth in FBS and first in Pac-12 with a 48.8 average.
• Second time in three weeks that Bouwmeester has achieved this honor. First time a Utah player has won the award multiple times in a season since WR/KR Britain Covey was honored twice in 2021.  Mitch Wishnowsky was the last Utah punter to win multiple times in the same season, twice in 2016 and four times total between 2016 and 2018.

Also nominated:  Atticus Sappington, PK, Oregon State; Camden Lewis, K, Oregon; Miles Williams, DB, California; Josh Carlson, P, Arizona State; Tyler Loop, K, Arizona

OFFENSIVE LINE:  Joshua Gray, RS Jr., LT, Oregon State (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.)

• Rushed for a 3-yard touchdown on a backwards pass in the second quarter. First OSU offensive lineman to score a touchdown since 1992.
• First OSU offensive lineman with positive offensive yards since 2017.
• Part of an offensive line that helped OSU to 450 total yards, including 191 on the ground.  Damien Martinez rushed for his ninth career 100-yard effort.
• 87.6 pass blocking grade from PFF, second-best in Pac-12.
• First time achieving this honor and first Oregon State player to win this award since Brandon Kipper in Week 1 of last season.

Also nominated: Parker Brailsford, C, Washington; Josh Conerly Jr., LT, Oregon; T.J. Session, RT, California; Jordan Morgan, LT, Arizona; Michael Mokofisi, RG, Utah

DEFENSIVE LINE:  Zion Tupuola-Fetui., Sr., EDGE, Washington (Pearl City, Hawai'i.)

• Led the Husky defense that held Michigan State to just one late score in a 41-7 victory in East Lansing. 
• Notched two quarterback sacks in the game, worth 16 yards of loss, and added another tackle for three total. 
• Set the tone with a 9-yard sack on the first drive of the game, after the Spartans had already earned two first downs. His sack, on 1st-and-10, drove the Spartans back and resulted in a punt three plays later. The Huskies scored on their first drive and never looked back. 
• Michigan State's only score came with less than six minutes in the fourth quarter, well after all of the starters had left the game.
• First time winning this award since taking it home three straight weeks during the 2020 season.  Washington players won this award three times last season (Jeremiah Martin - 2, Bralen Trice - 1)

Also nominated:  Andrew Chatfield, Jr., DE/LB, Oregon State; Prince Dorbah, DE, Arizona State; Keanu Tanuvasa, DT, Utah; Popo Aumavae, DT, Oregon;  Brett Johnson, DL, California; Bill Norton, DL, Arizona

FRESHMAN:  Parker Brailsford, RS Fr., C, Washington (Mesa, Ariz.)

• Making his first start at center after having started at guard in the first two games of his redshirt freshman year, led the way in the Huskies' historic offensive performance at Michigan State as the 8th-ranked Huskies beat the Spartans, 41-7.
• Washington rushed for 177 yards and passed for a school-record 536, good for 713 yards of total offense, the second-highest total in school history, their most ever against a Power-5 opponent and most in any road game. Additionally, the 713 yards were the most ever allowed by the Spartans in their program's long history, breaking the record (666, by Nebraska, 1995) by 47 yards. 
• UW line protected star quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who did not suffer a sack for the second game in a row (he's been sacked just once all year; on the first pass play of the season week one vs. Boise State). 
• Brailsford led the offensive line that paved the way to the Huskies averaging 9.9 yards per play (third-best ever at UW) and 13.7 yards per pass attempt (also third).
• First Husky to win this award since Ja'Lynn Polk was honored in Week 3 last season and first OL from any school to be named Freshman of the Week since the award was created prior to the 2019 season.

Also nominated:  Dante Moore, QB, UCLA; Mikey Matthews, WR, Utah; John Mateer, QB, Washington State; Devon Jackson, ILB, Oregon; Hank Zilinskas, C, Colorado;  Jermod McCoy, DB, Oregon State; Kyson Brown, RB, Arizona State

Date	Offensive	Defensive	Special Teams	Offensive               Line	Defensive Line	Freshman
Sept. 5	Shedeur Sanders, Colorado	Travis Hunter, Colorado	Jack Bouwmeester, Utah	Brian Driscoll California	David Bailey Stanford	Dylan Edwards, Colorado
Sept. 11	Bo Nix, Oregon	Ron Stone Jr., Washington State	Zachariah Branch, USC	Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan, Colorado	Ron Stone Jr., Washington State	Dante Moore, UCLA
Sept. 18	Michael Penix, Jr., Washington	Shilo Sanders, Colorado	Jack Bouwmeester, Utah	Joshua Gray, Oregon State	Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Washington	Parker Brailsford, Washington