DALLAS (FWAA) – With their 17-10 win
over Oklahoma, the TCU Horned Frogs are the Tostitos Fiesta 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. 3.
TCU recorded perhaps the program's biggest win since 1961, when the
Horned Frogs topped then No. 1 Texas. The Horned Frogs held 2004 Heisman
Trophy runner-up Adrian Peterson to 63 yards on 22 carries and Robert
Merrill's 2-yard touchdown run snapped a 10-10 tie with 11:56 to play.
The Horned Frogs forced four turnovers, including a fumble that led
to the winning score, and held Oklahoma to 225 total yards in handing
Bob Stoops his first loss in the month of September in his Oklahoma
tenure. Oklahoma had not lost a home opener since 1996, when TCU beat
the Sooners in Norman. It was also just OU's second loss in its last 38
home games.
"I think that nine times out of 10, Oklahoma wins this game," TCU
head coach Gary Patterson said. "Today was our one. We got a chance to
show off on national TV and show America that TCU is not gone."
Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend
of Sept. 3 included:
• Clemson (1-0): Jad Dean booted six field goals, including
the 42-yard game-winner at the gun as the Tigers nipped Texas A&M,
25-24.
• Georgia Tech (1-0): On the road, the Yellow Jackets
intercepted four passes in the second half in ending Auburn's 15-game
winning streak, 23-14.
• Notre Dame (1-0): Notre Dame scored on five of its first
six possessions to win at Pittsburgh, 42-21, in head coach Charlie
Weis' debut.
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 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
The 16 pollsters of the Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll decide the weekly honor. Each Monday during the 2005
college football season, the FWAA will name the
Tostitos Bowl National Team of the Week through Nov. 28.
The Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll will resume this season on Oct. 10. 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 two-time defending FWAA national champion and is ranked No. 1 in the initial 2005 poll.
Since 1971, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and Tempe, Ariz., have
hosted five games that have decided the college football national
championship, including two Bowl Championship Series title games. The
2006 game will be played on Jan. 2 and will be the final game played at
Sun Devil Stadium. The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, along with the BCS
Championship Game, will move to the new Multi-Purpose Stadium in
Glendale, Ariz., beginning in 2007.
For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of
the Week, go to
www.footballwriters.com or
www.tostitosfiestabowl.com.
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