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Pac-12 Football Players of the Week – Week 1

Sep 4, 2018

OFFENSE: JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Sr., WR, Stanford (Inman, S.C.)
• In Stanford’s 31-10 win over San Diego State, Arcega-Whiteside's 226 receiving yards were the third-most in a game in Stanford history, and the most since 1999.
• He caught three touchdowns and a two-point conversion, and in all, finished with six receptions and 37.67 yards per catch. His touchdown catches went for 38, 19 and a career-long 80 yards.
• His first touchdown gave Stanford the lead just before halftime and his last touchdown came on 3rd-and-15 from the Stanford 20-yard line with the Cardinal leading by just six in the third quarter.
• Arcega-Whiteside is the first Stanford receiver to earn Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week since Mark Bradford on Oct. 6, 2007 and is the first league receiver to take home the accolade since Washington’s John Ross III on Nov. 7, 2016.

Also nominated: N’Keal Harry, ASU; Laviska Shenault, COLO; Justin Herbert, ORE; Artavis Pierce, OSU; JT Daniels, USC; Zack Moss, UTAH; Gardner Minshew II, WSU.

DEFENSE: Nate Landman, So., ILB, Colorado (Danville, Calif.)
• In Colorado's 45-13 win over Colorado State, Landman recorded 16 tackles (6 solo, 10 assisted), two tackles for loss and one interception, all in his first career start.
• Landman’s 16-tackle performance in Week 1 ties for the second-most tackles per game in the country and among Pac-12 players.
• The Buffs held Colorado State to 284 total yards, a week after the Rams put up 653 total yards of offense against Hawai’i.

Also nominated: Chase Lucas, ASU; Cameron Goode, CAL; Ugochukwu Amadi, ORE; Joey Alfieri, STAN; Adarius Pickett, UCLA; Isaiah Polo-Mao, USC; Marcus Strong, WSU.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Chase McGrath, So., PK, USC (Newport Beach, Calif.)
• McGrath tied the USC record for most field goals in a game when he kicked five field goals in USC's 43-21 win over UNLV.
• His three-pointers were 46, 38, 29, 47 and 36 yards, with no misses. He also hit all three of his PATs and scored USC's first 12 points of the game.
• He tied a 14-year-old school record, first set in 2004 by Ryan Killen, who had five field goals versus UCLA.
• McGrath's last PAT, following a touchdown with 1:38 to play, was snapped by blind long snapper Jake Olson.

Also nominated: Michael Sleep-Dalton, ASU; Ronnie Blackmon, COLO; Jake Bailey, STAN; Blake Mazza, WSU.

  Offensive Defensive Special Teams
Sept. 4 JJ Arcega-Whiteside, STAN Nate Landman, COLO Chase McGrath, USC