Isaiah Oliver named Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week

University of Colorado sophomore Isaiah Oliver has been named the Pac-12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.

Oliver helped lift CU to a 20-10 win over UCLA last Thursday, sealing the victory with his 68-yard punt return for a touchdown with 5:27 remaining in the game. It was his first career punt return for a touchdown and the first by a Buffalo since Stephone Robinson brought one back 81 yards against Kansas in Boulder on Oct. 22, 2005.

In the game Oliver returned five punts for a total of 124 yards, which is the most return yards in a game by any Pac-12 player this season and the fourth-most of any FBS player. He is the first Buff to have over 100 yards in punt returns in a game since Josh Smith (4-108) against Eastern Washington on Sept. 6, 2008; it was the most yards since Roman Hollowell had 6-148 against Fresno State on Aug. 26, 2001.

His 42-yard return early in the third quarter set up a CU field goal that tied the game up at 10.

Additionally, Oliver had one tackle for a third-down stop in the game and two pass breakups while playing 32 snaps on defense.

Oliver this season has returned nine punts for 144 yards, which averages out to 16.0 yards per return. That figure would lead the Pac-12 and rank sixth nationally if he met the NCAA statistical minimums for punt returns (minimum 1.2 returns per game). He has 18 tackles on defense in 286 plays, one tackle for a loss, five third-down stops, eight pass breakups and one forced fumble.

With Oliver’s selection, the Buffaloes have now received six Pac-12 Player of the Week accolades this season. CU had a total of six selections in its first five seasons in the Pac-12 before seeing the high number of honorees this year.

The six honorees tie with Arizona State for the second most of any team in the conference, trailing Washington’s seven (two offensive, three defensive, two special teams).

The other Buffaloes honored this season were: QB Sefo Liufau (Sept. 5), QB Steven Montez (Sept. 26), PK Davis Price (Oct. 3), RB Phillip Lindsay (Oct. 17) and S Tedric Thompson (Oct. 24).