Fan Favorite

The obvious choice for the my Fan Favorite award this week is Austin Collie. Collie had a great game for the Coug's who beat up Air Force on Saturday. Collie had 7 catches for 130 yards. Not only are those big numbers but he also had 2 TD catches at crucial times to help BYU seal up the victory against the Falcons.
If that wasn't enough, Collie set a new record for the most reception yards in a season by one receiver. The last record was set 12 years ago! He is also still working on another record for consecutive games with over 100 yard receiving. He has caught over 100 yard in each of the last 8 games.

Good work!

Fan Favorite

David Nixon (Line Backer)

This weeks Fan Favorite award could go to a few different players but this week I had the most fun watching BYU linebacker David Nixon. The guy was everywhere! He had multiple sacks on San Diego States quarterback. He was often times the first to make contact with San Diego States running backs as well. However, I was most impressed with his pass defense and his open field tackles.

San Diego State likes to run quick inside slants and they like to pass the ball to their running backs. Nixon often times had the assignment to cover those quick slants and short passes. On nearly everyone, if the ball was thrown to a receiver that he was covering, Nixon was right there to knock the ball down or make the quick tackle.

There were also a few times where Nixon make it into the back field and had the one on one opportunity to drop the running back for a loss. He made the best out of almost all of those opportunities by making those open field tackles.

Weekly Fan Favorite

I've decided to start doing something new this week. Each week I am going to pick out a player who I thought was fun to watch as a fan. It will be my "Weekly Fan Favorite" Award. Weather the team wins or loses, there are usually certain players who have great games. I want to high light one player each week who I especially found fun to watch.

So! Drum roll please!....This week's award goes to...

FUI VAKAPUNA

Fui Vakapuna was especially fun to watch on Saturday. A couple of years ago when he was running with Curtis Brown, he seemed to plow people over. Nothing could stop him from gaining the yards that he needed. I wasn't sure if we would ever see that same passion and determined running.

Saturday sent me back to the days when he would lower his shoulder and hit opposing linebackers and DB's hard every time. Each time Fui was handed the ball he gained an average of almost 8 yards! I was particularly impressed by a drive in the second half where he ran the ball down the field and then caught the ball out of the back field for the touch down.

Fui has always been a fan favorite since a couple of years ago. Each time he touches the ball the entire crowd yells "FUUUUUUI".

Because of his hard hits, determined runs, and strong heart, I give Fui Vakapuna my FAN FAVORITE award this week. Below you'll see his final stats for the game on Saturday.

9 Runs
71 yards on the ground
7.9 yards per run

2 catches
13 yards
1 touch down