DALLAS (FWAA) With their 34-31 win at Notre Dame, the USC
Trojans are the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week,
as selected by the pollsters of the FWAA's Grantland Rice Super 16
Poll for games of the weekend of Oct. 15.
Quarterback Matt Leinart scored from a yard out with three seconds left
to cap a drive that was kept alive by a 61-yard completion to Dwayne
Jarrett on 4th-and-9. Tailback Reggie Bush ran for 160 yards and three
touchdowns on 15 carries and Leinart threw for 301 yards for the 6-0
Trojans.
The win was USC's 28th straight and a school-record 13th straight
away from home and its 15th straight vs. non-conference opponents.
"I have been in a couple of games like this. It was a very special
win out there today," said USC head coach Pete Carroll after the game.
"There are so few times you get the opportunity to win a game like that
at any level. That it is just awesome to come away with a win."
The other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl National Team of the Week nominee
for the weekend of Oct. 15:
Virginia (4-2): Marques Hagans threw for a career-high 306
yards and two touchdowns and Connor Hughes kicked four field goals as
the Cavaliers upset previously unbeaten Florida State, 26-21.
The FWAA has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season.
This is the first season that the award has been sponsored by the Tostitos
Fiesta Bowl.
The 16 pollsters of the Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll decide the weekly
honor. Each Monday during the 2005 college football season, the FWAA will
name the Tostitos Bowl National Team of the Week through Nov. 28.
The Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll will be released each Monday
afternoon from Oct. 10 through Dec. 5 and then following the BCS championship
game in the Rose Bowl. The top-ranked team in the final poll will be awarded
the Grantland Rice Trophy as the FWAA's national champion. The FWAA has
awarded the trophy each season since 1954. USC is the two-time defending
FWAA national champion and was ranked No. 1 in the initial 2005 poll.
Since 1971, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and Tempe, Ariz., have hosted
five games that have decided the college football national championship,
including two Bowl Championship Series title games. The 2006 game will be
played on Jan. 2 and will be the final game played at Sun Devil Stadium.
The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, along with the BCS Championship Game, will move
to the new Multi-Purpose Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., beginning in 2007.
For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the
Week, go to
www.footballwriters.com
or www.tostitosfiestabowl.com.