OGDEN (09/28/2015)- A massive offensive performance, a multi-sack performance in a conference game and masterful punting were highlights for this week’s ROOT SPORTS Players of the Week.

Montana State quarterback Dakota Prukop is this week’s ROOT SPORTS Offensive Player of the Week, Montana linebacker Tyrone Holmes is this week’s ROOT SPORTS Defensive Player of the Week and North Dakota punter Mitch Meindel is this week’s ROOT SPORTS Special Teams Player of the Week.

Prukop threw for a career-high 399 yards and rushed for 36 more, leading Montana State to a 45-28 win over 20th-ranked Cal Poly in Bozeman on Saturday. Prukop led MSU on drives culminating in four touchdowns and a field goal in its first five possessions. 

He tossed an 88-yard scoring strike to Jayshawn Gates, the third-longest pass play in MSU and Bobcat Stadium history, and a 63-yarder to Beau Sandland. He passed the 300-yard passing mark for the second straight game, and logged the fourth 400-yard total offense day of his career and second this season.

Tyrone Holmes was within a half of a sack of a new school record for the Griz, with 4 sacks for –13 yards on the day against NAU. Holmes also had 5.5 TFL for –16 yards. Holmes’ 4 sacks were tied for most in the country this weekend. He also leads the Big Sky Conference in sacks on the season with 8 total. Holmes leads the nation for sacks per game, averaging two sacks per game.

After his performance this past weekend in a 31-24 win over UC Davis, Meindel is the leading punter in FCS, averaging 48.1 yards per punt. The sophomore punter averaged 50.5 yards per punt on four attempts against the Aggies and his 55-yarder in the first quarter pinned UC Davis back at its own two-yard line. He added two punts of 50-plus yards to bring his season total to 10 (entered game second in FCS averaging 47.8 ypp). 

Others nominated for ROOT SPORTS Offensive Player of the Week include: Jordan Robinson, Sacramento State; Emmanuel Butler, Northern Arizona; Eric Wilkes, Weber State; Malik Brown, Southern Utah; Madison Mangum, Idaho State; Kendrick Bourne, Eastern Washington; Jacob Knipp, Northern Colorado; Nate Tago, Portland State; and John Santiago, North Dakota.

Nominees for the ROOT SPORTS Defensive Player of the Week include: Darnell Sankey, Sacramento State; John Herrero, Northern Arizona; Legrand Toia, Weber State; Junior Tufuga, Southern Utah; Darryl Graham, UC Davis; Samson Ebukam, Eastern Washington; Taylor Risner, Northern Colorado; Xavier Coleman, Portland State; and Will Ratelle, North Dakota.

The nominees for ROOT SPORTS Special Teams Player of the Week include: Smith Heath, Sacramento State; Ryan Hawkins, Northern Arizona; Josh Kealamakia, Weber State; Ty Rutledge, Southern Utah; Jordan Dascalo, Eastern Washington; Josh Kraught, Portland State; and Luke Daly, Montana State. 

ROOT SPORTS is the official television partner of the Big Sky Conference. This week’s Big Sky football game on ROOT SPORTS is between the Montana Grizzlies and UC Davis Aggies, with a kickoff time of 1 p.m. PT. The game will also be available on DirecTV’s Audience Network.