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DALLAS (FWAA) – With their 33-27 overtime win over Ohio State,
the Northwestern Wildcats 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 Oct. 2.
The win ended a 24-game overall losing streak to the Buckeyes covering
33 years and marked Northwestern's first win over Ohio State in Evanston
since 1958. The 33 points also are the most the Wildcats have ever scored
in the series. The two Big Ten schools have played 70 times.
Northwestern running back Noah Herron – No. 33 – scored his third touchdown
of the game on his 33rd carry, a one-yard plunge in overtime, to provide
the margin of victory. The Wildcats (2-3) held off an Ohio State team that
rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force the tie-breaker.
Other FedEx Orange Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend
of Oct. 2 included:
• Auburn (5-0): The Tigers, the team of the week just two weeks
ago, beat Tennessee, 34-10, to register their first win in Knoxville since
1983.
• Purdue (4-0): The Boilermakers hammered Notre Dame, 41-16,
for their first win in South Bend since 1974, a span of 13 games.
• San Jose State (2-2): The Spartans rallied from a 27-point
deficit to beat Rice, 70-63, in the highest-scoring game completed in
regulation in major college football history.
• Virginia Tech (3-2): The Hokies rebounded to upset previously
unbeaten West Virginia, 19-13, without scoring an offensive touchdown.
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.
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