DALLAS (FWAA) – The Pitt Panthers
held Miami to a season-low 232 total yards – only 45 on the ground
– and had a season-high four sacks while true freshman quarterback
Kenny Pickett, in his first career start, ran for two touchdowns
and threw for another to end No. 2 Miami's hopes of an undefeated
season with a 24-14 win Friday. For pulling off one of the season's
biggest upsets and beating Miami at home for the first time since
1997, Pitt (5-7) has earned the Football Writers Association
of America National Team of the Week honor for games of
the weekend of Nov. 25.
The announcement came on "Off Campus with Mark Packer" on ESPNU
Radio on SiriusXM. Each Monday during the season, the FWAA National
Team of the Week will be unveiled during the program, which airs
weekdays from 4-7 p.m. ET.
Pickett, who completed 18-of-29 passes for 193 yards and added
60 more on the ground, sealed the win with a 22-yard touchdown run
around left end on 4th-and-6 with 2:54 left in the game. Pickett's
six-yard run with 35 seconds left before halftime had given the
Panthers a 10-7 lead.
"There is a lot of celebrating going on in that locker room,"
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. "For the seniors, this is one to remember
for a long, long time. For our younger guys, it's reached the point
where you believe and have faith, then anything can happen. I talked
about the past and the big upset win at West Virginia. It happened
in Clemson last year. I told the players it's about time it happened
in Pittsburgh."
The Panthers beat a top-two team at home for the first time in
school history while also snapping a six-game home losing streak
to the Hurricanes. Pitt has now won four consecutive games against
top-three teams when unranked, and Narduzzi is 2-0 at Pitt against
top-three teams, including last year's 43-42 win at No. 2 Clemson,
the eventual national champion.
The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend
of Nov. 25 were:
• Auburn (10-2): The Tigers knocked off
the nation's No. 1-ranked team for a second time in three weeks,
beating Alabama 26-14 in the Iron Bowl to claim the SEC Western
Division championship. Jarrett Stidham completed 21-of-28 passes
for 237 yards and ran for 51 yards and a touchdown. Auburn trailed
14-10 after Alabama's opening drive of the second half, then
scored the game's final 16 points. Auburn held Alabama for 314
total yards and without a third-down conversion until the fourth
quarter. The Tigers have a rematch with Georgia, the former
No. 1 team Auburn beat three weeks ago, in the SEC Championship
Game on Saturday.
• UAB (8-4): The Blazers set three program
records with a 28-7 win over UTEP, finishing the regular season
with eight wins, a record in its FBS era, six conference wins
and posting a 6-0 mark at Legion Field for the first time. UAB,
which won six of its last eight games, accepted a bid Monday
to play in the Bahamas Bowl, only the second bowl berth in the
program's history.
The Football Writers Association of America has named a national
team of the week since the 2002 season. Members of the 12-person
FWAA All-America Committee – plus one fan vote from Twitter –
decide the weekly honor.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America 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.
2017 FWAA ALL-AMERICA
COMMITTEE |
Kirk Bohls |
Austin American-Statesman |
National |
Ken Capps |
TexasFootball.com |
C-USA |
Tim Griffin |
Cox Communications |
Big12 |
Clay Henry |
Hawgs Illustrated |
SEC |
Joey Johnston |
FanRag Sports |
American Athletic |
Bobby La Gesse |
Land of 10 |
Big Ten |
Stefanie Loh |
Seattle Times |
Pac-12 |
Nate Mink |
Syracuse Post-Standard |
ACC |
Matt Roberson |
Jonesboro Sun |
Sun Belt |
Phil Steele |
Phil Steele Publications |
Independents/Mountain West |
John Wagner |
Toledo Blade |
Mid-American |
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