Philadelphia – Among Sacramento State receiver DeAndre Carter's five touchdown receptions Saturday against Southern Oregon, his final two were the biggest.
With one second remaining in regulation, Carter hauled in a touchdown grab to tie the game, 56-56. Then in overtime, his fifth scoring catch gave his Hornets a 63-56 victory - their first of the season.
Carter, Eastern Illinois' Jimmy Garoppolo, Rhode Island's Andrew Bose, Jacksonville State's Griffin Thomas and South Dakota State's Dallas Brown have been named The Sports Network FCS National Players of the Week for all Week 3 games ending Sept. 14.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
DeAndre Carter, Sacramento State, WR, Jr., 5-9, 185, San Jose, Calif.
In case you thought you didn't read that right above, Carter did in fact haul in five touchdown receptions against Southern Oregon in Sacramento State's thrilling overtime victory. Carter pulled in 12 receptions for 122 yards as the favorite target of Garrett Safron, who threw for seven touchdowns. Carter, a junior, was held to just 34 yards receiving in his team's first two games, but exploded Saturday to help his Big Sky Conference team stay in, and win, the game.
Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois, QB, Sr., 6-3, 222, Arlington Heights, Ill.
There's no telling what Eastern Illinois is capable of, or who it's capable of beating, with Jimmy Garoppolo under center. Garoppolo is off to a monstrous start to the season, most recently downing Illinois State with 480 yards and seven touchdowns through the air. The senior quarterback completed 26 of his 41 pass attempts, while not throwing a single interception against the Redbirds. Garoppolo leads the FCS through three games with 1,281 passing yards and 14 touchdowns against just one interception. He's rightfully a co- offensive player of the week after leading his Ohio Valley Conference team to a 57-point effort against a (formerly) ranked Illinois State team.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Andrew Bose, Rhode Island, LB, Jr., 6-2, 232, Huntingtown, Md.
Bose led a Rhode Island defense over Albany as the Rams stopped a 15-game losing streak with their first victory since Nov. 5, 2011. Bose recorded 17 total tackles, which is sixth-most in program history for a single game, with eight solo tackles. He added 1.5 tackles for loss, half a sack and a pair of pass breakups. Bose didn't play in the first quarter of the CAA Football game, so all of his work was totaled up over three quarters. He was a ball hawk, and helped limit Albany running back Omar Osbourne, who rushed for 252 yards in his team's win over Colgate the previous week, to 96 yards on the ground.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Griffin Thomas, Jacksonville State, PK, Sr., 6-0, 198, Snellville, Ga.
It took a lot to beat out Gardner-Webb kicker Jordan Day, who connected on four field goals to lift his team past Richmond on Saturday, but Thomas managed to do it. The senior place-kicker hit five of his six field goal attempts against North Alabama, including the game-tying 26-yard kick in the first overtime period and the game-winning 20-yard kick in the second overtime for Jacksonville State. Thomas connected on a long attempt of 50 yards in the first quarter, and added conversions from 42 and 44 yards in the next three quarters. He also kicked an extra point on his OVC team's lone touchdown in the first quarter.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Dallas Brown, South Dakota State, DB/LB, R-Fr., 5-11, 190, Tuscon, Ariz.
Brown was dominant in his first career start for the Jackrabbits, as he intercepted two passes from Southeastern Louisiana quarterback Bryan Bennett in South Dakota State's 34-26 win over the Lions on Saturday. He returned his first pick for a 52-yard touchdown with 2:25 left to play in the game. His next interception sealed the victory for South Dakota State with just over a minute remaining. The safety-turned-linebacker added six tackles for his Missouri Valley Conference squad.
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