DALLAS (FWAA) – The West Virginia
Mountaineers held the nation’s top offense to half its
season average in points and yardage, and took out one of the
six remaining unbeaten teams in a 41-27 win over No. 4 Baylor.
The win the vaulted the Mountaineers (5-2) into a tie for second
place in the Big 12 and earned them the Big Game
National Team of the Week honor for games of the
weekend of Oct. 18.
The announcement came exclusively on SiriusXM Radio's
"College Sports Today," hosted by Mark Packer and
Eddie George.
Clint Trickett threw touchdown passes of 36, 12 and 39 yards,
but it was the WVU defense that grabbed attention by holding
Baylor to 318 total yards – and only 95 on the ground – just a
week removed from a 61-point outburst against TCU. The
Mountaineers scored the game's final 14 points to register the
upset.
"Holding Baylor to 318 yards on (79) plays is not something I
thought we would be able to do," said West Virginia coach
Holgorsen said after the game. "We made the decision (that) we
were just not going to let them sit back in the pocket and just
it to an open space like they did last year. We didn't affect
(Bryce) Petty one bit last year and they did a great job of
affecting him. We got four sacks and we got to him early."
The win also earned the Mountaineers their first spot in the
top-25 polls for the first time in exactly two years.
Other Big Game National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend
of Oct. 18 included:
• Alabama (6-1): The Crimson Tide routed
Texas A&M, 59-0, marking Alabama's largest margin of victory
ever over a ranked opponent, and its largest margin of
victory overall since 1979. Alabama held the Aggies to 172
total yards (31 rushing) and eight first downs and handed
them their first shutout in 11 seasons.
• Florida State (7-0): The Seminoles
extended their school-record win streak to 23 games with a
nail-biting 31-27 win over No. 5 Notre Dame that wasn’t
decided until the final seconds. FSU has now scored 30 or
more points in 21 of its last 22 games.
• Idaho (1-6): The Vandals ended the
nation’s longest losing streak at 13 games with a 29-17
homecoming win over New Mexico State, and did it without
starting quarterback Matt Linehan, who left with an injury
on the first series. Chad Chalich stepped in and threw for
192 yards and a touchdown as Idaho rolled up a season-best
536 total yards, including 310 on the ground, its highest
rushing total since 1996.
The Football Writers Association of America has named a national
team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the first season
The Big Game Football Factory has presented the award. Members of the FWAA All-America
Committee decide the weekly honor. Each remaining Monday during
the 2014 college football regular season, the FWAA will name a National
Team of the Week.
Big Game USA is the largest American-owned football
factory. Nearly half of all Football Bowl Subdivision programs play with a
ball made by Big Game USA. This season, Big Game has introduced
gametag™, the latest development in football technology. It allows
fans an opportunity to own a piece of football memorabilia, but
more than that, gametag™ offers complete authentication. Currently,
four Division I schools (Mississippi State, Navy, Nebraska and Texas
A&M) use balls equipped with gametag™. For more information
about Big Game USA, visit biggameusa.com or contact Josh Eells at
972-292-0700 or jeells@biggameusa.com.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization
founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,400 men and women who cover college football.
The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key
executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas
that include gameday operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For
more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson
at tiger@fwaa.com or 214-870-6516.
2014 FWAA ALL-AMERICA
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