DALLAS (FWAA) – Iowa running back Jordan
Canzeri ran the ball a school-record 43 times for 256 yards
as the Hawkeyes remained undefeated at 6-0 with a 29-20 win over
Illinois. Canzeri's rushing total was the third-best in the program's
history and earned him the AutoNation National Offensive
Player of the Week honor for games of the weelend of Oct.
10, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
The
5-9, 192-pound senior from Troy, N.Y., gave Iowa a 10-point lead
at 23-13 with a 75-yard touchdown run, the longest touchdown run
for the Hawkeyes since 2008. The three-year letterman carried the
ball on 11 consecutive plays (for 59 yards) in the fourth quarter
on a drive that set up an Iowa field goal and a 26-20 lead. His
10 total touchdowns lead the Big Ten and ranked seventh in the nation.
Canzeri also had a 17-yard reception for a touchdown in the second
quarter, marking the first time in his career that he had a rushing
and receiving touchdown in the same game.
"We saw something special," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of Canzeri.
"It was a tremendous, gutty performance. He stepped up big, and
he wanted to. I had no idea he had 43 carries, and he never looked
to the bench. It was one of those shots where he was going to keep
going. That's reflective of the attitude of our football team and
Jordan represents those guys well."
"I could hear the crowd and all of us in the huddle were excited,"
Canzeri said about the start of the drive where he ran 11 straight
times. "We knew what we needed to do. We were on a mission to kill
the clock and get points. We got it done."
As part of AutoNation's history of charitable involvement, AutoNation
will donate $1,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF)
in Canzeri's name. This charitable college football initiative culminates
with the AutoNation Cure Bowl, a new post-season NCAA football game
that kicks off bowl season at the Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando,
Fla., and will be aired by CBS Sports Network. The aptly named AutoNation
Cure Bowl also serves as a fund raiser for the BCRF, CharityWatch's
only A+ rated breast cancer organization in the country.
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"We want to celebrate the very best of college football,
while also helping to raise awareness for the importance of finding
a cure for cancer," says AutoNation CMO Marc Cannon. "This
season-long partnership with the FWAA, leading up to the AutoNation
Cure Bowl, puts a spotlight on a cause that we're determined to
tackle."
"In our 75th season of existence, this a marvelous platform
to get our players and the team of the week series excellent exposure
as well as helping AutoNation in its effort to fight cancer and
contribute to the educational funds of deserving student-athletes,"
said FWAA 2015 President Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World-Herald. "It
is very exciting to be able to help our organization as well as
others in this splendid effort."
The FWAA National Defensive Player of the Week and National Team
of the Week, both sponsored by AutoNation for the first time this
year, have been determined collectively by a group of FWAA officers
and the FWAA All-America Committee for several years. The AutoNation
FWAA Offensive Player of the Week has been added this season. Nominations
are taken from game performance all over the country each week and
then those nominations are reviewed by the FWAA, which determines
the actual recipients.
AutoNation is also the new sponsor of the 2015 FWAA All-America
Team, which will be comprised of 26 first-team and 26 second-team
selections as nominated by the membership and chosen by the FWAA
All-America Committee. The 2015 AutoNation FWAA All-America Team
will be announced at the AutoNation Cure Bowl on Dec. 19.
Coincidentally, the 2002 and '03 FWAA All-America teams were
honored on the floor of the very same Citrus Bowl Stadium. Over
the years, the FWAA's All-America teams have been honored in different
locations and on various media platforms during the second-longest
continuous annual selection of an All-America team in major college
football.
Additionally, the AutoNation 75th Anniversary FWAA All-America
Team, which was announced in August, will be celebrated during the
2015 season. That team includes players selected from past FWAA
All-America teams dating to 1944, three years after the organization
was formed in 1941. The AutoNation 75th Anniversary FWAA All-America
Team is composed of three teams of 25 players each, with all eight
decades, starting in the 1940s, represented among the playing eras
of members on the team. It includes 56 National Football Foundation
College Football Hall of Famers. Forty-one schools are represented
on the team that was selected by an FWAA Blue Ribbon Committee after
taking into consideration nominations from the membership.
About AutoNation, Inc.: AutoNation is transforming
the automotive retail industry through bold leadership. We deliver
a peerless automotive retail experience through our customer-focused
sales and service processes. Owning and operating 293 new vehicle
franchises, which sell 35 new vehicle brands across 15 states, AutoNation
is America's largest automotive retailer, with state-of-the-art
operations and the ability to leverage economies of scale that benefit
the customer. As an indication of our leadership position in our
industry, AutoNation is a component of the S&P 500 Index.
About
the AutoNation Cure Bowl: The AutoNation Cure Bowl a
new post-season NCAA football game whose net proceeds benefit the
Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The AutoNation Cure Bowl takes
place December 19 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, and will be broadcast
by CBS Sports Network. The bowl is scheduled to involve teams from
the American Athletic and Sun Belt conferences.
About the Football Writers Association of America:
Founded in 1941, the FWAA consists of 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 game-day
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.
2015 AutoNation National Offensive Players of the Week •
Week of Sept. 5: Derrick Henry, Alabama •
Week of Sept. 12: Dalvin Cook, Florida State
• Week of Sept. 19: Leonard Fournette, LSU
• Week of Sept. 26: Trevone Boykin, TCU •
Week of Oct. 3: Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State •
Week of Oct. 10: Jordan Canzeri, Iowa •
Week of Oct. 17: Christian McCaffrey, Stanford •
Week of Oct. 24: Dak Prescott, Mississippi State •
Week of Oct. 31: DeShone Kizer, Notre Dame •
Week of Nov. 7: Brandon Allen, Arkansas •
Week of Nov. 14: Deshaun Watson, Clemson •
Week of Nov. 21: Vernon Adams Jr., Oregon •
Week of Nov. 28: Brandon Doughty, Western Kentucky •
Week of Dec. 5: Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
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