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BYU football has a bye this week, but a bit of news trickled out Monday morning regarding the Cougars' next game, which is Nov. 9 at Wisconsin. The game will kick off at 1:30 p.m. MT and will be televised by either ABC or ESPN. Also Monday, BYU quarterback Taysom Hill, linebacker Uani Unga and Navy kicker Nick Sloan won FBS Independent Player of the Week honors. It's the second-straight honor for Hill, third this season, and fourth of his career. Unga was honored for the first time in his career. Hill accounted for 408 yards of offense by completing 27 of 41 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns and carrying the ball 18 times for 69 yards and a TD. Hill is the only quarterback in the FBS with more than 600 rushing yards (841 total) and 2,000 passing yards (2,019). Unga had a team-high 15 tackles, including five solos, against Boise State. He also forced a fumble, had a tackle for loss, and had a pass breakup. Unga is 15th in the nation in tackle with 10.4 per game. Also Monday, BYU's Hill was named one of eight quarterbacks in contention for the "Stars of the Week" as presented by the Manning Award. To vote for one of the eight QBs to win the weekly honor, go to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Facebook page. Voting closes Thursday at 10 a.m. MT, and the top vote-getter will be announced as the Manning Award Player of the Week. Go here to vote: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153382947250459.1073741847.297090315458&type=1&l=3e5efd2105 Hill is not one of 30 quarterbacks on the Manning Award preseason watch list, but additional QBs are expected to be added later in the season, according to officials. The 10 finalists will be announced on Nov. 27. Defensively, the Cougars are also dotting the watch lists around the country. Monday, linebacker Kyle Van Noy was named a semifinalist for the 2013 Butkus Award, which honors the country's top linebackers. UCLA's Anthony Barr, Wisconsin's Chris Borland, Stanford's Shayne Skov and Utah's Trevor Reilly also made the semifinalist list. After BYU defeated Boise State 37-20 last Friday, coach Bronco Mendenhall was asked where the credit should go for BYU's turnaround. The Cougars have won five straight games after their 1-2 start. "I think we are a hard-working staff. I think it is a quality staff," Mendenhall said. "Coach [Robert] Anae and the offensive crew, he's been dead honest in saying it might take half a year before you see the fruits of this. And they have been resilient. We are still not where I think any of us know we can be. And that's what's fun. And that's what is exciting. And also as a head coach, coaching a team that now has this style, the games at the end, man, they are very unique, because you have played 80-something plays, or 90-something plays, you are looking for depth, you are looking for guys, just live-breathing bodies to put in there — that's an exaggeration — you are looking for more players to develop to finish games. So there are a lot of unique things — and special teams become an issue, so we are learning and growing together."——————————-

It looks like former BYU basketball star Brandon Davies is going to realize his dream of playing in the NBA. The Philadelphia 76ers announced they have signed the rookie free agent, who was recently cut by the Los Angeles Clippers.Davies, who was named Most Valuable Player of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament pre-NBA Draft camp this past April, appeared in five games for the Clippers this preseason before getting waived. Davies was born in Philadelphia before being adopted by a single mother in Provo.