Cal Sports Report

Cal Linebacker Kuony Deng Named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week

Deng's two big plays in the fourth quarter preserved Cal's upset of Oregon

Jake Curtis

Cal Linebacker Kuony Deng Named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
Cal Linebacker Kuony Deng Named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week /

Cal linebacker Kuony Deng made two big, game-changing plays in the Bears' 21-17 upset of then-No. 23 Oregon on Saturday, and that was enough to get him named the Pac-12 defensive player of the week. The Pac-12 made the announcement on Monday.

Deng had a team-high eight tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and half a sack, as the Bears (1-3) shut out Oregon in the second half. The Ducks entered the game as the Pac-12 leader in total offense and scoring offense.

But Deng's biggest contribution were the two fumbles he forced in the fourth quarter, both ending Oregon drives.

With Cal leading 21-17, Deng tackled Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough for a loss, and forced a fumble by Shough that was recovered by Cal's Cameron Goode at the Cal 46-yard line with 8:47 remaining in the game.

With the Bears still leading by four points later in the game, Deng tackled Oregon receiver Johnny Johnson III and forced a fumble by Johnson that was recovered by Cal's Muelu Iosefa at the Cal 36-yard line with 52 seconds left in the game.

Deng discusses the second fumble in the video below:

The win marked the fourth consecutive season in the first four years under head coach Justin Wilcox that the Golden Bears have defeated a top-20 team.

Also nominated for defensive player of the week: Anthony Pandy, LB, Arizona; Tyler Johnson, DL, Arizona State; Nate Landman, ILB, Colorado; Avery Roberts, ILB, Oregon State; Curtis Robinson, ILB, Stanford; Caleb Johnson, LB, UCLA; Talanoa Hufanga, S, USC; Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah.

Colorado running back Jarek Broussard was named the Pac-12 offensive player of the week after rushing for 301 yards in the win over Arizona.

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Cover photo of Kuony Deng by Kelley L. Cox, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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