Air Force quarterback Liam Szarka has been named the fifth 2026 recipient of the player-of-the-week honors presented by the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. RELEASE

A junior from Grandview High in Aurora, Colo., Liam Szarka rushed for a career-high 171 yards on a career-high 33 carries and scored two touchdowns in Air Force’s 36-33 double-overtime win at Nevada in Reno.  On Monday, Szarka was named the Mountain West Conference’s offensive POW.

His carries and yards are the most by a Falcon this season and most by an Air Force quarterback since Isaiah Sanders had 44 carries for 196 yards vs. Utah State in 2017.  He also completed five passes for 92 yards and a touchdown.  The touchdown came in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-goal and gave Air Force a two-score lead.

Szarka had 11 carries for first downs or touchdowns, including four on fourth down.  He had five carries on Air Force’s six plays in the first overtime and three carries on the five plays in the second overtime.

Since the start of the NFFCC player of the week program in 2002, Air Force has had a recipient 38 times, with 34 players.  Szarka is the sixth Falcon quarterback to receive the NFFCC honor, with the last being Haaziq Daniels in September 2021, when he led Air Force to a 31-7 win over Florida Atlantic.

Like Szarka, Daniels had a career-best day by rushing for 164 yards, including a first-quarter 94-yard touchdown run, a new Academy record. He also completed two of four passes for 70 yards.

A freshman from Morenco Valley, Calif., Khalil Abdul-Aziz completed 19 of 32 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown without an interception in Adams State’s 70-21 setback at No. 8 Western Colorado. Abdul-Aziz connected with Andre Branch for a 14-yard touchdown on fourth down in the third quarter. He also completed a 55-yard pass to Kayden LaFramboise, who finished with 100 receiving yards. Abdul-Aziz helped Adams State finish with 219 passing yards and 297 total yards.

Fourth-year wide receiver Joseph Williams, from Arlington, Texas, caught 11 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown in Colorado’s 23-13 setback at Baylor in Waco.  He also completed a 49-yard pass. It was Williams sixth career 100-yard receiving game, third at Colorado and second in the past three games.  His 11 receptions are the ninth-most in CU history. His 49-yard completion is the third-longest by a wide receiver in CU history. He has had 20 receptions for 338 yards and 4 touchdowns in the last three weeks. He is just the third player in CU history to have 100 yards receiving and complete a pass, and just the second to have 10 receptions and complete a pass. He’s the first player in CU history with 11 receptions and a completion.

Senior defensive end Christian Peluse from Missouri City, Texas, led a dominant Colorado Mines front four in their 16-12 win at Chadron State, producing a team-high seven tackles with two tackles for losses, a sack, and three hurries. Peluse led a defense that limited Chadron State to 39 net rushing yards on 24 carries and 277 total offensive yards; the Eagles did not find the end zone until the final buzzer.

In No. 5 CSU Pueblo’s 35-23 home win on Saturday over Colorado Mesa, sophomore quarterback Navi Bruzon from Peoria, Ariz., continued his outstanding play in just his fifth collegiate start. In the win over the Mavericks, Bruzon completed 76.2 percent of his passes, was 16-for-21 passing for 287 yards and three touchdown passes, and added eight rushes for a season-high 47 yards; he was not sacked and had a rushing touchdown to lead the Pack to its NCAA Division II-best 28th consecutive RMAC win and its 14th straight regular-season win. Bruzon finished with 334 yards of total offense in the win and has now had at least 300 yards of total offense in four of five games this season, has passed for 250 or more yards in four of five games and has thrown three or more touchdown passes in four of five games. His touchdown passes went for 36 yards, 28 yards, and 2 yards on Saturday against Mesa, while his 11-yard rushing score with 10 seconds left in the third quarter gave the Pack a 35-9 lead.

• Through five games this season, Bruzon is 93-for-141 passing for 1,533 yards and is completing 66 percent of his passes, and has had three interceptions and 16 touchdowns, while running the ball 42 times for 118 yards and has had three rushing scores and has had a hand in 19 of the Pack’s 25 offensive touchdowns and has gained 1,651 yards of total offense and is averaging 330.2 yards per game.
• Bruzon has now had at least 300 yards of total offense in four of five games this season and has passed for 250 or more yards in four of five games and has thrown three or more touchdown passes in four of five games.
• He leads the RMAC in passing yards (1,533), passing yards per game (306.6), passing touchdowns (16), total offense (330.2 yards per game), points responsible for (114 points), passing efficiency (190.5), passing yards per attempt (10.87), and passing yards per completion (16.48), and is fifth in rushing touchdowns (5).
• Meanwhile, in the latest NCAA D-II statistics, Bruzon is second nationally in touchdown passes, points responsible for, points responsible for per game, passing yards, and is third nationally in total offense, passing yards per game, and is fifth nationally in passing efficiency.

A fifth-year quarterback from Wilmington, N.C., Sam Jones had one of the best performances by a Fort Lewis quarterback in a decade in the Skyhawks’ 28-20 setback at Black Hills State in Spearfish, S.D. Jones completed 30 of 40 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns.  His 30 completions are the most by a Skyhawk since 2012, tied for the seventh-most single-game completions in program history, mark just the ninth 30+ completion effort ever by a Skyhawk, and tie for the most by an RMAC quarterback in 2026.  Jones’ 339 yards are the most by a Skyhawk since 2018 and are the second-most by an RMAC quarterback this season.  His 78-yard touchdown reception to Solomon Latimer ties the second-longest receiving touchdown in the RMAC this year.  He helped Fort Lewis reach 400+ (402) yards of total offense for the first time since 2024, bringing the team back within a possession on the road against the Yellow Jackets.

A sophomore safety from Broomfield High in Colorado, Mikhail Benner returned an interception 11 yards for a touchdown on the first play of Utah Tech’s opening possession in a Northern Colorado 37-13 win over Utah Tech in Greeley.  It was UNC’s first pick-six since Michael Walker returned an interception for a touchdown against Idaho State on Nov. 2, 2019. It was Benner’s first career interception and first career touchdown, and a career-high nine tackles.  This was also the first defensive touchdown under head coach Ed Lamb.

A fifth-year running back from Woodbridge, Va., Lamonte James had a career day for Western State in the Mountaineers’ 70-21 win over Adams State in Gunnison.  He averaged 13.1 yards per carry (144 yards on 11 rushes) and dashed for two TD runs, including a 73-yard scamper away from all defenders for Western’s final score in the RMAC victory.