COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Dakota Cox, sophomore linebacker, was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year after his performance against New Mexico State in UNM’s 38-35 last second win.The conference also announced Boise State’s Jay Ajayi as the Offensive Player of the Week, and Wyoming placekicker Stuart Williams as the Special Teams Player of the Week. For Cox, it was a career day. He registered 18 tackles, which is the most for any player in the FBS this year (tied with eight others), and it bested his career-high by one. Cox also ended New Mexico State’s opening drive with a red zone interception, his first career pick. That ended New Mexico State’s streak of 10 straight red zone scores to start the season. With UNM up 38-35 with 27 seconds left, Cox broke up a deep seam pass that would have but New Mexico State on the cusp of tying field goal range.For the season, Cox is the Mountain West leader in tackles with 15 per game, and that mark ranked tied for fourth nationally. It’s the first Player of the Week award for Cox, and it is the second time in the past two seasons that UNM has gotten a defensive player of the week honor after playing New Mexico State, as Brett Bowers earned the honor last year.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
JAY AJAYI, BOISE STATE
Junior, Running Back, Plano, Texas / Frisco Liberty HS
· Carried the ball 27 times for 150 yards with three touchdowns in Boise State’s 34-9 home win over Louisiana.
· Tied for the team-high with five receptions for an additional 37 yards.
· Scored all of his touchdowns in the first half to pace the Broncos to a 21-3 halftime advantage.
· Gained 120 of his 150 yards in the first half, marking the second time in three weeks (Sept. 6 versus Colorado State) Ajayi has eclipsed the 100-yard barrier in the opening 30 minutes.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
DAKOTA COX, NEW MEXICO
Sophomore, Linebacker, Draper, Utah / Juan Diego Catholic HS
· Registered a career-high 18 tackles (5 solo) and intercepted a pass in New Mexico’s 38-35 victory at in-state rival New Mexico State.
· The interception, the first of his career, occurred on New Mexico State’s opening drive of the game. Cox picked the ball off at the Lobo 10-yard line and returned it 16 yards. The Aggies entered the game 10-for-10 in red zone conversions.
· Broke up a long pass with 13 seconds left in the contest that would have put the Aggies close to field goal range.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
STUART WILLIAMS, WYOMING
Senior, Placekicker, Nederland, Colorado / Nederland HS
Perfect on the day, making both field-goal attempts and both PAT conversion to score eight points in Wyoming’s 20-19 victory over Florida Atlantic.
· Kicked a career-long 50-yard field goal in the second quarter and an 18-yard, game-winning field goal with 15 seconds remaining in the game.