Sept. 4: Rutgers Sept. 11: Fresno State Sept. 18: Auburn Sept. 25: Navy Oct. 2: Northwestern Oct. 9: Army Oct. 16: Wisconsin Oct. 23: Mississippi State Oct. 30: North Carolina Nov. 6: Notre Dame Nov. 13: Michigan State Nov. 20: Utah Nov. 27: Syracuse
Football Writers Association of America Sept. 13, 2004
For Immediate Release
Contact: Ted Gangi
214-823-7992
Bulldogs take out Kansas State in Manhattan
FRESNO STATE IS FEDEX ORANGE
BOWL NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEK
DALLAS (FWAA) – With their convincing 45-21 win over Kansas State this past Saturday, the Fresno State Bulldogs are the FedEx Orange Bowl National Team of the Week, as selected by the pollsters of the FWAA's Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll for games of the weekend of Sept. 11.

FedEx Orange Bowl

Fresno State (2-0) was led by quarterback Paul Pinegar, who threw two touchdown passes and ran for another as the Bulldogs handed Kansas State its worst regular-season non-conference loss in 13 years.

Dwayne Wright and Bryson Sumlin each ran for a pair of scores and the Bulldogs held K-State running back Darren Sproles to just 37 yards rushing on 11 carries.

"I've been here for 16 years," Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. "We never had a football team that just got beat up as badly as we did today."

Other FedEx Orange Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Sept. 11 included:

Notre Dame (1-1): Rallied from a 9-0 halftime deficit to beat Michigan, 28-20. Freshman Darius Walker ran for 115 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns to spark the Irish.

Southern Miss (1-0): The Eagles converted four of five Nebraska turnovers into points and became the first non-conference opponent to beat Nebraska in Lincoln since 1991.

Troy (2-0): A week after toppling Marshall, Jason Samples threw a touchdown pass and caught another as the Trojans, in their fourth season as a Division I-A program, beat a Big 12 team for the first time in school history.

The FWAA has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the first season that the award has been sponsored by the FedEx Orange Bowl.

The 16 pollsters of the Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll decide the weekly honor. Each Monday during the 2004 college football season, the FWAA will name the FedEx Orange Bowl National Team of the Week through Nov. 29. This season, FedEx Orange Bowl will match the two top-ranked teams in the final BCS standings. It will be played at Miami's Pro Player Stadium on Jan. 4, 2005.

The Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll will resume this season on Oct. 11. The top-ranked team in the final poll will be awarded the Grantland Rice Trophy as the FWAA's national champion. The FWAA has awarded the trophy each season since 1954. USC is the defending FWAA national champion and is ranked No. 1 in the initial 2004 poll.

For more information on the FedEx Orange Bowl National Team of the Week, go to www.footballwriters.com or www.orangebowl.org.

2004 FedEx Orange Bowl National Teams of the Week
Weekend of Sept. 4: Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Weekend of Sept. 11: Fresno State Bulldogs
Weekend of Sept. 18: Auburn Tigers
Weekend of Sept. 25: Navy Midshipmen
Weekend of Oct. 2: Northwestern Wildcats
Weekend of Oct. 9: Army Black Knights
Weekend of Oct. 16: Wisconsin Badgers
Weekend of Oct. 23: Mississippi State Bulldogs
Weekend of Oct. 30: North Carolina Tar Heels
Weekend of Nov. 6: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Weekend of Nov. 13: Michigan State Spartans
Weekend of Nov. 20: Utah Utes
Weekend of Nov. 27: Syracuse Orange
2004 FWAA/GRANTLAND RICE SUPER 16 POLLSTERS
EAST SOUTH MIDWEST WEST
Mark Blaudschun
Boston Globe
Mike Griffith
Knoxville News-Sentinel
Brian Davis
The Dallas Morning News
Steve Henson
Los Angeles Times
Jordan Burchette
CSTV | Maxim Online
Ron Higgins
The Commercial Appeal
Dennis Dodd
CBS SportsLine
Natalie Meisler
Denver Post
Frank Coyle
MSNBC | draftinsiders.com
Stewart Mandel
si.com
Pete Fiutak
College Football News
Ted Miller
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Lenn Robbins
New York Post
Jeff Shain
Miami Herald
Darryl Richards
Freelance
Bob Moran
East Valley Tribune