Utah football receives multiple Big 12 weekly honors after dominating win over Cincinnati

After dominating all three phases of the game in a blowout win over a nationally-ranked Cincinnati squad, the Utah football team was awarded multiple Big 12 weekly honors on Monday.

The Utes' defense received the conference's defensive line of the week award for its stout performance against the Bearcats, while true freshman Mana Carvalho took home the league's special teams player of the week honor following his first punt return touchdown of the season.

Led by a relentless pass rush from John Henry Daley, Utah's front line made life difficult for Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby and company, holding the No. 3 scoring offense in the Big 12 to a season-low 14 points while forcing three turnovers out of Sorsby. The Bearcats also completed just 33.3% of their pass attempts and had less than 20 minutes of possession time, allowing the Utes' offense to completely dictate the flow of the game behind their potent run game.

"The ball was coming out quick because [Sorsby] had to speed things up," said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham after his team's 45-14 win on Saturday. "That's where past defense starts, at the line of scrimmage with the rush."

Utah's special teams unit played a key role in not only determining field position at times, but also in maintaining momentum when Cincinnati started to push back. Carvalho wound up being the star of the night after fielding three punts for 94 total yards, including a 75-yard return for a touchdown in the third quarter to make it a 24-point lead for the Utes.

It was Utah's first punt return for a touchdown since 2021, and the first by a Utes freshman since Britain Covey accomplished the feat in 2015.

"It was just amazing," Carvalho said of his punt return after the game. "I seen everything that was like, basically scripted, and it was just perfect."

Nov 1, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes wide receiver Mana Carvalho (28) returns a punt during the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Carvalho split the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week award with Texas Tech kicker Stone Harrington. The 6-foot-3 junior went 4-for-5 on extra point tries and 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, scoring 13 total points in his team's 43-20 victory over Kansas State.

Red Raiders linebacker Jacob Rodriguez was also honored alongside West Virginia defensive back Fred Perry as the league's defensive players of the week. Rodriguez forced a pair of fumbles against the Wildcats, making him the Football Bowl Subdivision leader with seven forced fumbles on the season.

Arizona State was awarded the Big 12 Offensive Line of the Week and the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honor, which was split between Sun Devils quarterback Jeff Sims and Arizona signal-caller Noah Fifita. Sims threw for 177 yards and ran for 228 rushing yards, becoming the first Big 12 quarterback to throw for at least 175 yards and eclipse 200 yards on the ground in a game since Texas’ Vince Young in the 2006 Rose Bowl.

Big 12 Weekly Awards (Week 10)

Offensive Player of the Week: Arizona QB Noah Fifita, Arizona State QB Jeff Sims
Defensive Player of the Week: West Virginia DB Fred Perry, Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez
Special Teams Player of the Week: Utah returner Mana Carvalho, Texas Tech K Stone Harrington
Freshman of the Week: West Virginia QB Scotty Fox Jr.
Offensive Line of the Week: Arizona State
Defensive Line of the Week: Utah

The Utah defense earns themselves @Big12Conference 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 after a dominate showing over the weekend‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/t6f0QVEreU
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 3, 2025

.@Mana_Carvalho22 is this the @Big12Conference 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤‼️

⚫️ 3 punt returns
⚫️ 94 yards
⚫️ First punt return for a touchdown since 2021‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/cYzZMG3w2K
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 3, 2025

Big 12 Weekly Awards (Week 10)

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