Utah kicker Louie Sakoda (35) throws his arms in the air after hitting the game-winning field goal in Utah's 17-14 victory over Air Force Saturday, Nov. 18, 2006. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - John Beck (BYU), Jeff Ballard (TCU), Joe Jiannoni (Utah) and Louie Sakoda (Utah) are Mountain West Conference Players of the Week for games through Nov. 18. Beck and Ballard share the Offensive Player of the Week honor, while Jiannoni garners the Defensive Player award and Sakoda receives Special Teams recognition. This is Beck's ninth career weekly honor and sixth of the season, while Sakoda collects his third award of the season and of this career. Jiannoni is a first time weekly award winner.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK JOHN BECK, BYU Senior, Quarterback, Mesa, Ariz./Mountain View
Senior quarterback John Beck completed 28-of-48 passes for a season-high 464 yards and five touchdowns as BYU defeated New Mexico, 42-17, to secure its first outright Mountain West title since 2001. Beck connected on touchdown passes of 20, 71, 9 and 4 yards as the Cougars improved to 9-2 overall and 7-0 in the MWC. Beck also rushed for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to cap off the day.
JEFF BALLARD, TCU Senior, Quarterback, Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood
Senior quarterback Jeff Ballard had a record setting day as he accounted for six touchdowns and 318 total yards of offense in TCU's 52-0 victory over San Diego State. Ballard set a TCU and tied a Mountain West single-game completion percentage record of 87.0 by completing 20-of-23 passes for 288 yards and five touchdowns. He also set a Horned Frog record with 14 consecutive completions over the first two quarters of play against the Aztecs, breaking Max Knake's record of 13 straight completions against SMU and Oklahoma State in 1993. Ballard's five touchdown passes of 18, 44, 30, 5 and 33 yards tied the TCU single-game record set by Matt Vogler (vs. Houston in 1990) and Steve Stamp (vs. UT-Arlington in 1981). Ballard also rushed for 30 yards on eight carries and scored a touchdown on a four-yard run in the second quarter.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK JOE JIANNONI, UTAH Junior, Linebacker, La Quinta, Calif./La Quinta
Junior linebacker Joe Jiannoni tied his career high with 15 tackles, including 11 solo, in Utah's 17-14 victory at Air Force. Jiannoni also had 2.5 tackles for loss, including a sack for two yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK LOUIE SAKODA, UTAH Sophomore, Place Kicker/Punter, San Jose, Calif./Branham
Sophomore place kicker/punter Louie Sakoda hit a 37-yard game-winning field goal as time expired in Utah's 17-14 win at Air Force. Sakoda was 1-for-1 in field goal attempts and 2-for-2 in point after attempts in the game. He also punted five times for an average of 45.2 yards per punt, including two 57-yard punts, and placed two of his five punts inside the 20-yard line.
