COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- San Diego State football's Matt Araiza (San Diego/Rancho Bernardo HS) has been named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. It is the second straight league honor for Araiza, his third of the season and fourth of his career.
Araiza was a key player in the Aztecs' 20-14 win at Air Force on Saturday. Araiza punted five times for a 54.8 yard average and 50.8 net punt average with a long of 81 yards. One of his five punts was inside Air Force territory (for 29 yards). If you take away that punt, he averaged 61.3 yards per boot. Araiza matched a career high with four punts inside the 20-yard line, including a long of 81 yards, which was the longest in the nation for the week and tied for the fifth-longest punt this season. Araiza also was 2-for-2 in field goal attempts, including a 51-yarder, and 2-for-2 in PATs, for eight of SDSU's 20 points in the game. He also kicked off five times for a perfect 65.0 average with five touchbacks.
Since at least 1996, Araiza has two games with at least an 80-yard punt and a 50-yard field goal (each of the past two games). It has only happened one other time in a FBS game (Utah's Louie Sakoda at Wyoming on Oct. 11, 2008) over that span.
Araiza, who has been named a midseason All-America selection as a punter by the Associated Press, ESPN and Sporting News, and a second-team pick by The Athletic, leads all FBS players in punt average (53.96), punt yards (2,428) and punt yards per game (346.86), and is tied for first in punts inside the 20 (22) and PAT percentage (100.00), second in net punt average (46.69, 1st in MW), fourth in kickoff average (64.95, 1st in MW) and punts per game (6.43, 2nd in MW), fifth in punts (45, 2nd in MW), 13th in kickoff touchback percentage (82.05, 1st in MW) and tied for 14th in kickoff touchbacks (32, 1st in MW). Araiza also is tied for second in the MW in made PATs (26, T-40th in FBS) and attempted PATs (26, T-43rd in FBS), third in kickoff yards (2,533, 48th in FBS), fifth in field goal attempts (13, T-30th in FBS) and kickoffs (39, T-55th in FBS), sixth in kicking points (53, 43rd in FBS), seventh in field goals (9, T-43rd in FBS) and points per game (7.57, 72nd in FBS), ninth in total points (53) and 10th in field goal percentage (69.23).
Araiza's 53.96 punt average is 3.79 yards per punt more than No. 2 (50.17). The 3.79-yard difference is greater than the difference between No. 2 and No. 17 (3.74 yards) of the national leaders. Araiza also has the longest punt this season (86 yards), fifth longest (81), the 10th longest (77), the 14th longest (75) and the 19th longest (72). Araiza also has five punts of at least 70 yards, the most in the country (two are tied for second with two 70-yard punts). He leads the special teams unit with four tackles, and is tied for first with two on the kick return unit and two on the punt return unit (2).
Araiza has the longest punt this season (86 yards), fifth longest (81), the 10th longest (77), the 14th longest (75) and the 19th longest (72).
No. 21/20 San Diego State, which is off to a 7-0 start for the first time since 1975, welcomes Fresno State at 7:30 p.m. PT Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Araiza Named MW Special Teams Player of the Week
