Aug. 30: Alabama Crimson Tide Sept. 6: East Carolina Pirates Sept. 13: USC Trojans Sept. 20: Boise State Broncos Sept. 27: Oregon State Beavers Oct. 4: Vanderbilt Commodores Oct. 13: Oklahoma State Cowboys and Texas Longhorns Oct. 18: TCU Horned Frogs Oct. 25: Penn State Nittany Lions Nov. 1: Texas Tech Red Raiders Nov. 8: Iowa Hawkeyes Nov. 15: Houston Cougars Nov. 22: Oklahoma Sooners
Football Writers Association of America Oct. 13, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Ted Gangi
214-909-9314
Big 12 South schools are first to share weekly honor
OKLAHOMA STATE, TEXAS ARE TOSTITOS
FIESTA BOWL NATIONAL TEAMS OF THE WEEK

DALLAS (FWAA) – The Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-0), with their 28-23 win at No. 3 Missouri, and the Texas Longhorns (6-0), with their 45-35 win over top-ranked Oklahoma, are the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Teams of the Week for games of the weekend of Oct. 11. It's the first time in the seven-year history of the award that teams have shared the honor.

Oklahoma State's Zac Robinson threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for a score as the Cowboys improved to 6-0 by winning for the second straight time in Columbia. The Oklahoma State defense also intercepted three passes to lead the Cowboys to their 6-0 start, the school's best since 1997.

Spurred by Jordan Shipley's 96-yard kickoff return, Texas rallied from an early 14-3 deficit. Colt McCoy completed 28-of-35 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown while Chris Ogbonnaya added 127 yards on the ground in front of a record crowd of 92,182 at the newly-expanded Cotton Bowl. Shipley (112 yards) and fellow wideout Quan Cosby (122) each turned in a 100-yard day for the Longhorns, who moved to the top of the polls with the win.

Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Oct. 4 included:

Florida (5-1): Tim Tebow threw two touchdown passes and ran for another as the Gators thumped defending national champion LSU, 51-21, in Gainesville.

Toledo (2-4): Tyrrell Herbert returned one of his two interceptions 100 yards for a touchdown as Toledo upset Michigan, 13-10, becoming the first current Mid-American Conference school to defeat the Wolverines.

The FWAA has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the fifth season that the award has been sponsored by the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Members of the FWAA board of directors and All-America committee decide the weekly honor. Each Monday during the 2008 college football season, the FWAA will name the Tostitos Bowl National Team of the Week through Dec. 1.

Since 1971, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl has hosted six games that have decided the college football national championship, including three Bowl Championship Series title games. This season the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game will be played on Jan. 5, 2009 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., and the Insight Bowl will be played on Dec. 31, 2008 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week, go to www.footballwriters.com or www.fiestabowl.org.

2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Teams of the Week
Weekend of Aug. 30: Alabama Crimson Tide
Weekend of Sept. 6: East Carolina Pirates
Weekend of Sept. 13: USC Trojans
Weekend of Sept. 20: Boise State Broncos
Weekend of Sept. 27: Oregon State Beavers
Weekend of Oct. 4: Vanderbilt Commodores
Weekend of Oct. 11: Oklahoma State/Texas
Weekend of Oct. 18: TCU Horned Frogs
Weekend of Oct. 25: Penn State Nittany Lions
Weekend of Nov. 1: Texas Tech Red Raiders
Weekend of Nov. 8: Iowa Hawkeyes
Weekend of Nov. 15: Houston Cougars
Weekend of Nov. 22: Oklahoma Sooners
Weekend of Nov. 29: Kansas Jayhawks