DALLAS (FWAA) – Stanford running back
Christian McCaffrey rushed for a school-record
243 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Cardinal to a 56-35 win
over UCLA. McCaffrey also returned a kickoff 96 yards to set up
another touchdown, and the big night earned him the AutoNation
National Offensive Player of the Week honor for games of
the weekend of Oct. 17, as selected by the Football Writers
Association of America.
The
6-0, 201-pound sophomore from Castle Rock, Colo., averaged 9.7 yards
on his 25 carries, and the four touchdowns ties the single-game
school record with eight others. His kickoff return went to the
UCLA four, leaving him just short of owning the school record by
himself.
McCaffrey's 369 all-purpose yards are the most in the Football
Bowl Subdivision this season and put him back in the national lead
in that category. His total fell just 10 yards shy of Glyn Milburn's
school record. McCaffrey's two touchdown runs of nine and 28 yards
in the second quarter came during a 21-point burst by Stanford that
broke the game open. He added touchdown runs of 70 and six yards
in the second half.
"I was just lucky enough to run behind some great offensive linemen
and went through some holes and tried to make stuff happen," McCaffrey
said. "Thanks to the guys up front, who do such an amazing job.
The linemen, people blocking downfield, those are the guys that
make it happen. Football's a team game and you got to look at it
that way and I'm just really thankful to play for an amazing team."
As part of AutoNation's history of charitable involvement, AutoNation
will donate $1,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF)
in McCaffrey'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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McCaffrey |
"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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