PROVO, Utah (Sept. 17, 2018) – BYU football received multiple National Team of the Week accolades Monday following the team's 24-21 upset over No. 6 Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday.
The Cougars were named the Reveal Suits National Team of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America as well as the NCAA's Team of the Week after achieving their first win over a top-10 team in a true road game since 1984. BYU also ended the Badgers' 41-game win streak in non-conference home games.
This is the third time BYU has earned the FWAA National Team of the Week honor dating to the 2002 season and the Cougars’ first since 2007. The FWAA announcement came on "Off Campus with Mark Packer" on ESPNU Radio on SiriusXM, where the weekly award is unveiled each week of the season. The FWAA's All-America Committee selects the weekly winner and all Division I FBS and FCS schools are eligible to be selected.
Wisconsin, which beat BYU in Provo last year 40-6, had not lost a non-conference game at home since 2003, a 41-game streak that was the fifth-longest streak by an FBS school in the modern era (since 1946). Following a 14-14 halftime tie, BYU linebacker Zayne Anderson intercepted a pass that led to a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter. Tied again at 21-21, BYU freshman kicker Skyler Southam's 45-yard field goal with 9:58 left proved to be the game-winner, as Wisconsin missed a 42-yarder wide left with 36 seconds left.
"It was a team win. We gave the ball to our strength and conditioning room because those guys kept working until our guys got bigger and stronger and faster," head coach Kalani Sitake said. "The players were gritty and they played hard and with a lot of toughness. I was really pleased with their effort."
The Cougars have 25 wins over Power 5 teams since 2003, the most of any non-Power 5 program in that span. Senior running back Squally Canada had 118 rushing yards with two touchdowns, including runs of 46 and 44 yards. Senior linebacker Sione Takitaki led the defense with 13 total tackles, with eight of them solo and one sack. The Cougars' last true road win over a top-10 team was a 20-14 victory at No. 3 Pitt in 1984. BYU last beat a top-10 team in 2009 with a 14-13 win over No. 3 Oklahoma in the first college game in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
BYU hosts McNeese State on Saturday in LaVell Edwards Stadium at 4 p.m. MDT. McNeese, ranked No. 9/10 nationally among FCS programs, comes to Provo for the first time in a game televised nationally on BYUtv and ESPN3.