Sam Noyer, Nate Landman win Pac-12 Players of the Week

Colorado seniors Sam Noyer and Nate Landman have been named Offensive and Defensive Pac-12 Players of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.

The Buffaloes beat the Stanford Cardinal, 35-32, thanks to a terrific offensive showing and a strong defensive first half. The Buffs had a 35-16 lead in the fourth quarter before allowing two late touchdowns, but they held strong and came away with the win.

No player was as valuable as Noyer, the first-time starting quarterback who was Steven Montez’s career backup before moving over to safety in 2019. Noyer has impressed with his poise, decision making, accurate passing and even power rushing. The dual-threat option threw for two touchdowns, ran for another two, and totaled 291 yards while constantly moving the sticks.

As Noyer was putting points on the board, Nate Landman was making all kinds of plays at middle linebacker, racking 17 total tackles. The Hammer was playing linebacker like it was 1994, always moving downhill to stick some poor runner. The Cardinal had just 70 rushing yards and more than half of those came on Davis Mills scrambling. Their ground game was so ineffective that they gave it up entirely.

The Buffs do not have a game schedule for this coming Sunday, as of now. Arizona State is currently suffering a COVID-19 outbreak, so the Buffs will have to find another opponent if they are to sustain this momentum.