| DALLAS (FWAA) – With their
40-37 win over Michigan State, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(3-1) 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. 23.
 Notre
Dame fought back from an early 17-0 hole and a 37-21 deficit
entering the fourth quarter to win a game that celebrated the
40th anniversary of the famed 10-10 tie between the two schools
in 1966.
Cornerback Terrail Lambert capped the rally by returning an
interception 19 yards for a touchdown with 2:53 remaining to
give Notre Dame its first lead of the day. Quarterback Brady
Quinn finished the day 20-of-36 for 319 yards with five
touchdowns as Notre Dame won its seventh straight road game and
its third straight game in East Lansing.
Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl National Team of the Week nominees
for the weekend of Sept. 23 included:
• Arkansas (3-1): The Hogs held off Alabama, 24-23
in overtime, to improve to 6-1 all-time in overtime and
start 2-0 in SEC play for the first time since 1996.
• N.C. State (2-2): The Wolfpack rebounded from
consecutive losses with a dramatic 17-15 win at Boston
College in the game's final seconds.
The FWAA has named a national team of the week since the 2002
season. This is the second 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 2006 college football season,
the FWAA will name the Tostitos Bowl National Team of the Week through
Nov. 27.
The Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll will resume this season
on Oct. 16. 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. Texas is the defending
FWAA national champion and Ohio State is ranked No. 1 in the initial
2006 poll.
Since 1971, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl has hosted five games
that have decided the college football national championship, including
two Bowl Championship Series title games. The 2007 game will be
played on Jan. 1. The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, along with the new Tostitos
BCS Championship Game, moves to the new Cardinals Stadium in Glendale,
Ariz., and will be played on Jan. 8.
For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team
of the Week, go to
www.footballwriters.com
or www.fiestabowl.org.
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