DALLAS (FWAA) – The Ole Miss Rebels
beat Alabama on its home field for the first time since 1988, forcing
five turnovers that led to 24 points in a thrilling 43-37 win in
Tuscaloosa. Beating Alabama in consecutive years for the first time
in the 60-game series earned the Rebels (3-0) the AutoNation
National Team of the Week honor for games of the weekend
of Sept. 19.
Junior
quarterback Chad Kelly threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns
and ran for 21 yards and another score in handing Alabama its first
home loss in three seasons. Senior wide receiver Cody Core caught
four passes for a career-high 123 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown
in the fourth quarter that put the Rebels ahead by 14 points.
"Oh man, what a game," Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. "It
was definitely a four-quarter battle. We thought we had it put away
a couple of times, and they just wouldn’t go away. The great thing
about it is we can improve so much from this. Hopefully, we’ll take
all the positives from it and be excited about the win, but look
at everything that we didn’t do properly and get better for next
week."
This was the Rebels' second straight win over a top-five team.
Ole Miss beat No. 4 Mississippi State 31-17 last year. Ole Miss
also scored at least 43 points for a third consecutive game, the
first time that has happened in school history. The Rebels were
perfect in the red zone (4-for-4, 2 touchdowns, 2 field goals) and
remain perfect on the season at 15-for-15 (12 touchdowns, three
field goals). Kelly has now accounted for 12 total touchdowns this
season.
Other AutoNation National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend
of Sept. 19 included:
• Stanford (2-1): The Cardinal overcame
an 11-point second-quarter deficit and outscored USC 31-10 the
rest of the way, topping the 6th-ranked Trojans 41-31 in Los Angeles. Remound
Wright scored three touchdowns and Kevin Hogan passed for 279
yards on an 18-for-23 night, and the teams combined for 901
yards.
As part of AutoNation’s history of charitable involvement, AutoNation
will donate $1,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF)
in the University of Mississippi'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.
"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 Football Writers Association of America has named a national
team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the first season
AutoNation has presented the award. Members of the FWAA All-America
Committee decide the weekly honor. Each remaining Monday during
the 2015 college football regular season, the FWAA will name a National
Team of the Week. Members of the FWAA All-America Committee decide
the weekly honor.
AutoNation is also the presenting sponsor of the FWAA's national
offensive and defensive players of the week announced each
Tuesday, the 2015 FWAA All-America Team and the 75th Anniversary
FWAA All-America Team. The 2015 AutoNation FWAA All-America Team
will be announced at the AutoNation Cure Bowl on Dec. 19.
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.
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