DALLAS (FWAA) – Mississippi State quarterback
Dak Prescott was responsible for six touchdowns
in a 42-16 win over Kentucky, tying a 63-year-old school record.
Prescott threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for 117
yards and another three touchdowns, a 465-yard total offense mark
that earned him the AutoNation National Offensive Player
of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Oct. 24,
as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
The
6-2, 230-pound senior from Haughton, La., surpassed the 300-yard
passing mark for the fifth time in his career and for a second straight
game, completing 25-of-35 passes. The six touchdowns ties Jackie
Parker's school record set in 1952. Prescott became the first Southeastern
Conference player since Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton in 2010
to account for six or more touchdowns in an SEC game.
Prescott is one of two Football Bowl Subdviision players with
at least 14 passing touchdowns and seven rushing scores, along with
Patrick Mahomes of Texas Tech. He currently owns 36 school records
(seven single-game, 15 single-season and 14 career), and last week
became the 17th player in FBS history and only active FBS player
with 7,000-plus career passing yards and 2,000-plus career rushing
yards.
"I knew this was a good game for me," Prescott told
the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. "We needed some momentum going
and to have a big game like this to finish this stretch out, I think
it was timed right."
As part of AutoNation's history of charitable involvement, AutoNation
will donate $1,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF)
in Prescott'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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