By: Pac-12 Conference

The Pac-12 today announced its football weekly awards for Week 3 of the 2026 season with the 4 awards being split evenly by 2 schools as Oregon State and Fresno State each claimed a pair of honors and the Bulldog brought home their first weekly football awards since joining the conference.
OFFENSE:  Braden Atkinson, 2nd year, QB, Oregon State (Raleigh, N.C.)

• Passed for 333 yards and 5 touchdowns while rushing for a score in Oregon State's win over Montana. 258 of his passing yardage and 5 of his 6 TD came in the 1st half as he played very little after halftime.
• Became just the 5th player in school history to account for 6 touchdowns in the same game, and the first since Jake Luton in 2019 against UCLA.
• Has now thrown for 300-plus in 3 consecutive games and enters Week 4 with 1,122 yards, becoming the first Beaver QB over 1,000 after 3 since Sean Mannion in 2013.  Mannion was the last OSU quarterback to have 3 straight games with 300+ pass yards when he opened that 2013 season with 7 straight games of 300 or more.
• Connected on 22 of 30 passes for a season-high 73.3 completion percentage.  3rd in FBS this season with 27.3 completions per game
• Ranks 2nd in FBS in passing yards (1,122) and 1st in passing yards per game (374.0)
• Surpassed 300 yards passing for the 14th time in his 17 career games at the collegiate level
• First Oregon State QB to win this award since DJ Uiagalelei in Week 6 of the 2023 season

ALSO NOMINATED:  Dylan Riley, RB, Boise State; Javion Kinnard, RB, San Diego State; Torrance Burgess, Jr., RB, Texas State; Kirby Vorhees, RB, Washington State
 
DEFENSE:  Ethan Tierney, 4th year, DB, Fresno State (DeKalb, Ill.)

• Recorded 2 interceptions, accounting for half of Fresno State’s 4 takeaways
• First Bulldog with multiple interceptions in a game since teammate Simeon Harris had 2 against the Spartans last season.  This is the 3rd straight year that a Fresno State player has had multiple interceptions in a game against San Jose State
• Made his 1st interception in the end zone with 21 seconds remaining in the first half, preserving Fresno State’s 6-3 lead
• Returned his 2nd interception 38 yards to the San Jose State 48-yard line
• His second takeaway set up Fresno State’s only passing touchdown, which extended the lead to 13-3
• Added one assisted tackle
• Had his 1st career game with multiple interceptions
• Helped Fresno State hold San Jose State to 10 points and 335 yards of total offense in the 26-10 victory
• The Bulldogs have 5 interceptions in the first 3 games, 2nd most in the Pac-12 this season

ALSO NOMINATED:  Travis Anderson, LB, Boise State; Kord Shaw, LB, Oregon State; Ayden Jones, LB, Texas State; Matyus McLain, DE, Washington State
 
SPECIAL TEAMS:  Manaki Watanabe, 3rd year, K, Fresno State (Novi, Mich.)

• Converted 4 of 5 field-goal attempts, scoring a game-high 14 points in Fresno State’s 26-10 victory
• Connected on field goals from 52, 51, 44 and 40 yards
• Made 2 field goals of at least 50 yards, including a Div. I career-long 52-yarder.  Had a 59-yard FG with Div. II Ashland last season.
• Became the 1st Bulldog kicker to have multiple 50-yard field goals in a game.  Also the 1st Bulldog kicker to have a 50-yarder in back-to-back games
• His 52-yard field goal tied the game at 3-3 in the second quarter
• Added a 51-yard field goal with 50 seconds remaining in the first half to give Fresno State a 6-3 lead
• Converted a 44-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, extending the Bulldogs’ lead to 16-10
• Made a 40-yard attempt with 1:54 remaining to give Fresno State a 2-possession advantage
• Finished 2-for-2 on PAT attempts
• 3-for-3 on 50+ yard field goals so far this season after kicking a 51-yarder the previous week against Sacramento State.  Only FBS kicker this season to attempt 3 field goals of 50+ yards and the most 50-yard FG made in a season by a Fresno State kicker since at least 1996
• The 14 kicking points are the most in a game by a Fresno State kicker since Dylan Lynch had 15 in last year's win over San Jose State

ALSO NOMINATED:  Xayvion Noland, WR, Oregon State; Jaylen Thomas, DB, Washington State
 
FRESHMAN:  Jesse Legree, 1st year, WR, Oregon State (Baltimore, Md.)

• Totaled 100 yards receiving, making 4 receptions, in the win over Montana. Played sparingly after the 1st half
• Reached the 100-yard plateau for the 3rd consecutive game. Became just the 5th player in program history with 3 straight 100-yard efforts, and the first since Brandin Cooks in 2013
• Leads the nation with 476 receiving yards and 158.7 receiving yards per game
• Has 4 receiving touchdowns, tied for 7th most in the country
• Tied for 4th in FBS with 28.0 yards per reception
• 5th in FBS in all-purpose yards per game with 158.7
• Tied for the nation's lead with 5 receptions of 30 or more yards and 4 recptions of 40+ yards. Caught a game-best 48-yarder in the first half Saturday.  1 of 2 players in FBS this season with multiple receptions of 70+ yards
• Becomes 2nd player in conference history to win Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in 3 straight weeks, joining former Utah RB Ty Jordan who won the final 3 awards of that season.

ALSO NOMINATED:  Rasean Jones, WR, Boise State
 

	Offensive	Defensive	Special Teams	Freshman
Week 1 (Sept. 8)	Hauss Hejny, QB, Colorado State	Oumar Diomande, LB, Colorado State	Jaylon Hawkins, WR/KR, San Diego State	Jesse Legree, WR, Oregon State
Week 2 (Sept. 14)	Dylan Riley, RB, Boise State	Jaylen Thomas, DB Washington State	Cam Bates, WR/KR, Boise State	Jesse Legree, WR, Oregon State
Week 3 (Sept. 21)	Braden Atkinson, QB Oregon State	Ethan Tierney, DB Fresno State	Manaki Watanabe, K Fresno State	Jesse Legree, WR, Oregon State