Pac-12 Week 1 Awards: Zach Charbonnet, Alec Anderson Collect Hardware
In the first week of every team in the conference suiting up, two Bruins stood above the rest.
The Pac-12 announced its weekly honors Tuesday, and No. 16 UCLA football (2-0) running back Zach Charbonnet and right tackle Alec Anderson took home Offensive Player of the Week and Offensive Lineman of the Week, respectively. Edge rusher Mitchell Agude was nominated for Defensive Player of the Week, while receiver Kazmeir Allen was nominated for Special Teams Player of the Week and Otito Ogbonnia was nominated for Defensive Lineman of the Week.
Charbonnet picked up 117 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, in addition to another 35 receiving yards, in UCLA's 38-27 win over then-No. 16 LSU. It marked the second week in a row Charbonnet broke the 100-yard threshold, doing so on just six carries Week 0 against Hawaii, as well as the second week in a row he averaged over 10 yards per carry.
Two games into his debut season with the Bruins, Charbonnet ranks fourth in the country with 223 yards, is tied for the FBS lead with four rushing touchdowns and has the highest yards per carry of anyone with 10 or more attempts at 13.1.
One of the big reasons Charbonnet has been able to get off to such a hot start has been the work of UCLA's offensive line, and that was certainly the case for much of Saturday night's victory over the Tigers. Charbonnet picked up five double-digit gains, four of which went to the right, placing a lot of pressure on Anderson to seal the edge and open up lanes.
Anderson did just that, and he was credited with two knockdowns and an 82% grade on the night. After helping lead the Bruins to back-to-back 200 yard games on the ground, Anderson becomes the first UCLA player to win the Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week Award since it was introduced in 2019.
Charbonnet and Anderson teamed up early in the second quarter to give UCLA a 14-7 lead on a 12-yard touchdown run, spearheaded by Anderson getting out in space and flattening a crashing defensive back.
The pair of Bruins who won awards weren't the only teammates who earned recognition from the conference Tuesday, as Arizona State's DJ Taylor and DJ Davidson won Special Teams Player and Freshman of the Week. Arizona State and Oregon led all teams with six nominated players, while UCLA tied for second with five alongside USC and Utah.
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