Travon Blanchard, a 2013 WOS grad, was honored twice following his last game.
He was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week and the Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week as his Baylor Bears beat Oklahoma State 35-24 Saturday.
Blanchard had 11 tackles and a career-high 4.5 tackles for loss. He also recorded one forced fumble, a fumble recover and a pass breakup to complete his night.
The juniors biggest play in the game came with OSU driving with under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter and Baylor leading 28-24. He was able to punch the ball loose from OSU RB Justice Hill at the BU 2-yard line as the Cowboys were on the verge of taking the lead. Blanchard then pounced on the ball at the BU 1-yard line for a forced fumble and recovery. Hill was originally ruled down, but replay overturned that call to give the Bears the ball at their own 1-yard line. After Blanchard’s recovery, the BU offense sealed the game with a 99-yard TD drive.
Blanchard will now be added to the Bronko Nagurski Watch List. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce five finalists for the 2016 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which is given National Defensive Player of the Year, on Nov. 17. The winner will be chosen from those five finalists who are part of the 2016 FWAA All-America Team. The 13th-ranked Bears (4-0, 1-0) will now travel to Iowa State to face the Cyclones (1-3, 0-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday.
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