Dixon, Reed Earn Pac-10 Honors Again

EUGENE, Ore. -- Dennis Dixon and Nick Reed have been named Pac-10 Players of the Week after Oregon’s 35-23 win over then-No. 4 (BCS) Arizona State on Saturday. Dixon was named co-offensive Player of the Week, sharing the award with Washington RB Louis Rankin.

For Dixon, it is his third POTW award of the season, a feat that has never been accomplished by an Oregon player since its inception in 1983. The senior and Heisman Trophy candidate from San Leandro, Calif., passed for 189 yards and 4 touchdowns, while also adding 57 rushing yards.

He accounted for every yard on Oregon’s first touchdown drive of the game, 4 plays, 76 yards, and Oregon’s third touchdown drive of the game, 7 plays, 75 yards, in leading the Ducks to a quick 21-3 lead that they never relinquished.

On the other side of the ball, Reed was just as dominant. The junior out of Trabuco Canyon, Calif. had 11 tackles, 5 of them for a loss, as well as 3.5 of Oregon’s 9 sacks of ASU QB Rudy Carpenter, giving him 11 sacks and 18.5 TFL’s on the year.

Reed is the first Oregon player since 1997 to win two defensive POTW awards in one season, when Peter Sirmon won two.

It is also the first time Oregon players have been named the defensive and the offensive Pac-10 Player of the Week since Nov. 8, 1997, when Akili Smith and Peter Sirmon both won the award.

The Ducks have a bye this weekend, followed by a Thursday night game against Arizona next week. The game will be broadcast nationally at 6 p.m. (PST), only on ESPN.