FRESNO - Fresno State sophomore Jeffrey Allison was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 6 following his standout performance on Nov. 4 vs. BYU. It is Allison’s second honor in a three week span after earning his first career honor on Oct. 23 following the Bulldogs’ Oct. 21 contest at San Diego State.
How he won it:
- Made a diving leap to recover a fumble in the air that was jarred loose by Mike Bell late in fourth quarter (3:14) which ultimately sealed the win for Fresno State as BYU’s offense never saw the ball again.
- Led the Bulldogs in the tackles with 14 – tying a career-high originally set at Alabama on September 9.
- Accumulated 10 first half tackles (of the team’s 41).
- Recorded one of the team’s two sacks vs. BYU – on a third-and-10 at the end of the first half.
- Member of a defensive unit that limited BYU to 54 yards offense in the fourth quarter.
- Member of a defensive unit that stopped BYU on both of its fourth-down attempts (0-of-2). Teams are now 4-of-15 this season against Fresno State on fourth down, ranking No. 8 in the FBS.
→ Allison is the first Bulldog to earn two Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week honors in the same season since All-American Phillip Thomas did so in 2012.
Mountain West Players of the Week
Fresno State has claimed the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week honor three times over the last four weeks. Until Oct. 9, it had been since Nov. 10, 2014 since Fresno State had a student-athlete named a Mountain West Player of the Week for either offense, defense or special teams. Sophomore DB Juju Hughes picked up the award on Oct. 9, LB Kyrie Wilson was honored three seasons prior on Nov. 10, 2014.
→ Fresno State has had one other run while in the Mountain West of taking home the defensive player of the week award - having the award three times in four weeks (Sept. 17-Oct. 8) in 2012 when Phillip Thomas was awarded Sept. 17 and Oct. 1, and Andy Jennings was named on Oct. 1.
