University of Houston Athletics
Duo Named American Players of the Week
9/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
HOUSTON -- Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. and cornerback Brandon Wilson have been named American Athletic Conference Players of the Week, the league office announced Monday. Ward earned Offensive Player of the Week honors and Wilson Special Teams Player of the Week honors for their efforts in Houston's 33-23 win over No. 3 Oklahoma.
In addition to Ward and Wilson's awards, freshman defensive tackle Ed Oliver was named to the league's weekly honor roll.
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Ward threw his fourth career 300-yard passing game as he finished Saturday with 321 yards and two touchdowns on 23-of-40 passing. He did it against the Big 12's top passing defense from last season as Oklahoma ended 2015 giving up an average of just 202.8 yards per game through the air.
Ward was accurate on third down in the game, completing 8-of-10 passes for 143 yards while facing the threat of fourth down. All eight of those completions on third downs resulted in Houston first downs while two other third-down passing plays forced Oklahoma penalties that resulted in first downs.
Ward spread the ball around with passes to seven different receivers and became the fifth quarterback in Houston history to win 20+ games as a starter. He joined Case Keenum (37, 2001-11); Kevin Kolb (26, 2003-06); Gary Mullins (25, 1969-71) and Danny Davis (20, 1976-78) in accomplishing the feat.
Named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week on Sunday, Wilson provided one of the biggest plays of the game in Houston's win when he returned a missed field goal from the back of Houston's end zone for a decisive third quarter touchdown.
The senior from Shreveport, La., also recorded a game-high and career-high 10 tackles including one for a loss of three yards while also breaking up one pass.
With the missed field goal return, Wilson now has eight career touchdowns in six different ways. He also has two rushing touchdowns, two kick return touchdowns, a fumble return, an interception return and a blocked field goal return.
In 2015, he was the only player in the nation to score multiple touchdowns in all three phases of the game with two touchdowns each on offense, defense and special teams.
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In his first collegiate game, Oliver led all defensive linemen on both teams with seven tackles and tied teammate Steven Taylor with a game-high two sacks. Oliver was a consistent presence in the Oklahoma backfield throughout the game, disrupting an Oklahoma offense that averaged 530.2 yards per game in 2015 and helping the Houston defense hold the Sooners to 393 total yards including just 70 on the ground. OU averaged 222.1 rushing yards per game in 2015.
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