DALLAS (FWAA) - Storming from behind to register the
biggest comeback in school history allowed the Nebraska
Cornhuskers (5-1) to earn the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National
Team of the Week for games of the weekend of Oct. 8.
Nebraska recorded its first Big Ten win, 34-27, over Ohio State, rallying
from a 27-6 deficit in the third quarter to win before a NCAA-record 315th
consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium on Homecoming.
The game turned on Lavonte David's fumble recovery that provided a short
field for Nebraska, which scored two plays later to get within 27-13. Taylor
Martinez and Rex Burkhead each ran for more than 100 yards, with Burkhead
providing the game-winning touchdown on a 17-yard burst with 5:10 left. Martinez
finished with two touchdown passes among his season-high 16 completions, one of
the a 30-yarder to Burkhead that tied the score with 7:44 to play.
"I thought we left some drives out there. We stayed the course," Nebraska
head coach Bo Pelini said after the game. "That's kind of the motto of our
program. It's about the culture, it's about the process, about staying the
course. There was no panic. I'm proud of how they came out and played the second
half."
Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the
weekend of Oct. 8 included:
· Oklahoma (5-0): The Sooners shut down arch-rival Texas,
scoring three defensive touchdowns along the way in a 55-17 rout in Dallas.
Oklahoma scored the first four times it had the ball and led 34-10 at the half.
It was the most-lopsided margin of victory in the series since 2003.
·
Wake Forest (4-1): The Demon Deacons moved to 3-0 for
the first time during their 59-year membership in the ACC after a 35-30 upset
win over Florida State. Wake Forest forced five turnovers and held off a
Seminoles rally in the fourth quarter.
The
Football Writers Association of America has named a
national team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the seventh season that
the award has been sponsored by the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
Members of the FWAA All-America Committee decide the weekly honor. Each
remaining Monday during the 2011 college football regular season, the FWAA will
name the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week.
Founded in 1971, the
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl has hosted seven
games that have decided the college football national championship, including
four Bowl Championship Series title games. This season, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
will be played on Jan. 2, 2012, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale,
Ariz., and the Insight Bowl will be played on Dec. 30, 2011, at Sun Devil
Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team
of the Week, go to
footballwriters.com
or
fiestabowl.org