CINCINNATI - Three University of Cincinnati football players, linebacker Maalik Bomar (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods), quarterback Munchie Legaux (New Orleans, La./Edna Karr) and punter Pat O'Donnell (Lakeworth, Fla./Palm Beach Central), earned BIG EAST Conference Player of the Week honors for the week ending Sept. 30, the league office announced Monday.
The Bearcats staged a last-second 27-24 come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. Saturday to move to 3-0 on the young season.
Legaux, the offensive player of the week, threw for a career-high 376 yards with three touchdowns to lead Cincinnati to a 27-24 neutral-site win against No. 25 Virginia Tech to keep the Bearcats unbeaten on the season. He threw for 257 yards in the second half and saw all three of his touchdown passes give the Bearcats a lead. Legaux threw touchdown passes of 76 and 39 yards in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning score with 13 seconds left in regulation.
Bomar, who earned defensive player of the week accolades, had a game- and career-high 16 tackles with a pass breakup to key the defensive effort in the Bearcats' 27-24 win against No. 25 Virginia Tech in Landover, Md. He anchored a unit that did not allow the Hokies to gain a first down until late in the second quarter and limited Virginia Tech to just 4-of-13 efficiency on third down.
O'Donnell, the conference's special teams player of the week, helped tip the field in Cincinnati's favor through the Bearcats' 27-24 win against No. 25 Virginia Tech. He punted five times and averaged 44.6 yards per punt, pinning the Hokies inside their own 20-yard line four times. Virginia Tech had an average starting field position of its own 22-yard line for the game.
The No. 23 Bearcats (3-0) return to action Saturday against longtime foe Miami (Ohio) at Nippert Stadium in the 117th Battle for the Victory Bell, one of the longest running non-conference rivalries in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised by FOX Sports Ohio.
