University Southern California Trojans
Trojan Safety Earns Pac-10 Honor
November 05, 2001 | Football
Nov. 5, 2001
USC junior safety Troy Polamalu was named the Pac-10 Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against Oregon State last Saturday (Nov. 3).
On OSU's first series, Polamalu blocked a punt which teammate Steve Stevenson recovered in the end zone to open the scoring in USC's 16-10 overtime win against the Beavers. It was his second blocked punt of 2001 and third in his career. He also had a game-best 11 tackles (2 for losses) on defense, plus deflected 2 passes and forced a fumble.
On the year, he has a team-high 92 tackles (second in the Pac-10), including 10 for losses (with 1 sack), plus 2 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, 4 deflections and an interception which was returned for a TD.
Polamalu was joined in the weekly Pac-10 honors by Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington (offense) and Washington State safety Lamont Thompson (defense). Harrington directed the Ducks to a 42-24 win against Arizona State by completing 19 of 32 passes (.594) for 319 yards and a school-record tying 6 touchdowns with no interceptions. Thompson tied the Pac-10 single-game record by intercepting four passes in the Cougars' 20-14 upset win against No. 9-ranked UCLA, giving him a Pac-10 record-tying 21 career picks.
