DALLAS (FWAA) – Notre Dame quarterback
DeShone Kizer already had two fourth-quarter
comebacks on his resume in his short stint at the helm of the
Fighting Irish. Yet, he added another one in dramatic fashion
Saturday by accounting for 442 yards of total offense as Notre
Dame rallied – again – for a 24-20 win at
previously-undefeated Temple. For his work on the ground and
through the air, Kizer is the AutoNation National
Offensive Player of the Week for games of the weekend
of Oct. 31, as selected by the Football Writers Association of
America.
The
6-4, 230-pound sophomore from Toledo, Ohio, completed 23-of-36
passes for 299 yards and the winning touchdown, a 17-yard strike
to Will Fuller with 2:09 remaining. The comeback follows similar
fourth-quarter rallies Kizer led at Virginia in his memorable
debut after filling in for the injured Malik Zaire, and then
last week against USC. Kizer also ran for 143 yards against
Temple on only 17 carries, averaging 8.4 yards per carry and
scoring two more touchdowns.
"It all comes with experience. When you go out there and you
do it once or twice, that's how it's going to end up being,"
Kizer said. "We know how to go about a fourth-quarter comeback
now."
Kizer's 79-yard run in the second quarter gave Notre Dame a
14-10 halftime lead and marked the second-longest run in school
history by a quarterback. His 143 rushing yards were the
second-most in a game by an Irish quarterback, just shy of the
school record of 146 set by Bill Etter against Navy in 1969.
As part of AutoNation's history of charitable involvement,
AutoNation will donate $1,000 to the Breast Cancer Research
Foundation (BCRF) in Kizer'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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