Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller
Oregon State tailback Jacquizz Rodgers, USC safety Taylor Mays and Arizona State kicker Thomas Weber are the Pac-10 Players of the Week.
Rodgers, a freshman from Richmond, Texas, rushed 31 times for 144 yards and one touchdown and added three receptions for 8 yards and another score in the Beavers' 34-6 win at UCLA.
He also established a new Pac-10 freshmen rushing record as he upped his season total to 1,089 yards, eclipsing Stanford's Darrin Nelson, who had 1,069 yards in 1977.
Rodgers is just the third freshman in conference history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. It marks the second consecutive week and third time this year he has been named offensive player of the week.
Mays, a junior from Seattle, Wash., had five tackles, four solo, and was credited with four pass breakups in the Trojans' 17-3 win over California.
The USC defense did not allow a touchdown from an offense that entered the game averaging 36.4 points per game. It marked the first time a Jeff Tedford-coached Cal team did not score a touchdown in a game. The Trojan defense limited the Golden Bears to 13 first downs and 165 yards total offense (27 rushing, 138 passing) and posted four quarterback sacks (minus-34 yards).
Weber, a sophomore from Downey, Calif., was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, connecting from 34, 37 and 29 yards, and perfect on four PATs in the Sun Devils' 39-19 win over Washington. He also averaged 41.2 yards on four punts, with a long boot of 56 yards. Two punts were downed inside the 20-yard line, plus he handled kickoff duties.
Also nominated for offensive player of the week honors were running backs Jeremiah Johnson of Oregon, Nicolas Grigsby of Arizona and C.J. Gable of USC and receiver Mike Jones of Arizona State. Also nominated on defense were safeties Troy Nolan of Arizona State and T.J. Ward of Oregon State and linebackers Ronnie Palmer of Arizona, Keaton Kristick of Oregon State and Reggie Carter of UCLA. Joe Perkins of Arizona, Morgan Flint of Oregon, Johnny Hekker of Oregon State and Aaron Perez of UCLA were nominated for special teams play.
Ted Miller has been covering college football since 1997, starting with Auburn and then heading West to Washington and the Pac-10. His columns for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer won first place in 2007 APSE Best Writing contest. The Atlanta native and University of Richmond graduate presently lives with his wife in Scottsdale, Ariz.
