Football Players of the Week for Sept. 2

Sept. 2, 2000

WALNUT CREEK, Calif--Tailback DeShaun Foster of UCLA, defensive end Joe Tafoya of Arizona and punter Nick Murphy of Arizona State have been named Pac-10 Players of the Week in football.

Foster, a junior from Tustin, Calif., played a key role in UCLA's 35-24 upset win against No. 3-ranked Alabama. Foster tied a UCLA single-game record by carrying 42 times for a career-high 187 yards (4.5) and three touchdowns. He rushed 21 times for 93 yards in the first half and 21 times for 94 yards in the second half.

Tafoya, a senior from Pittsburg, Calif., led Arizona's defensive unit in the Wildcats' 17-3 upset win at Utah. Tafoya, a second-team All-Pac-10 selection last year, recorded eight tackles, five unassisted including four tackles for loss (-21), two of which were quarterback sacks (-19). He also forced a fumble that was picked up by Arizona and returned for a touchdown. In the game, the Arizona defense posted 15 tackles for loss, six quarterback sacks and forced five Utah turnovers.

Murphy, a junior from Scottsdale, Ariz., played a key role in Arizona State's tight 10-7 win at San Diego State. Murphy punted 11 times for 463 yards (42.1-yard average) with a long of 53 yards. Included were three punts that were downed inside the San Diego State 5-yard line.

Also nominated for offensive player of the week honors were tailbacks Sultan McCullough of USC and Ken Simonton of Oregon State and quarterbacks Randy Fasani of Stanford, Marquest Tuiasosopo of Washington and Jeff Krohn of Arizona. Others nominated on defense were linebackers Ben Mahdavi of Washington, Coy Wire of Stanford, Darnell Robinson of Oregon State and Solomon Bates of Arizona State and backs Ricky Manning Jr. of UCLA and Billy Newman of Washington State. USC nominated its entire defensive unit. Place kickers David Newbury of USC and Mike Biselli of Stanford, punter Chris Palic of Arizona and special teams performers Ben Mahdavi of Washington and Curtis Nettles of Washington State were nominated for special teams play.

2000 PAC-10 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Week Offense Defense Special TeamsSep. 2 DeShaun Foster, TB, UCLA Joe Tafoya, DE, ARIZ Nick Murphy, P, ASU

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