BYU is Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week

Cougars earn second national team recognition in past five seasons

DALLAS (FWAA) – Quarterback Taysom Hill ran for a career-high 259 yards and three touchdowns and the BYU Cougars (1-1) earned their first win over a ranked team since 2009, toppling No. 15 Texas, 40-21, to earn Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week honors for games of the weekend of Sept. 7.

The announcement came exclusively on SiriusXM Radio's "College Sports Today," hosted by Mark Packer and Eddie George.

After a nearly two-hour weather delay, the Cougars ran for a school-record 550 yards and Hill's rushing total was the highest by a quarterback since Texas' Vince Young ran for 265 against Oklahoma State in 2005. Among BYU's 99 offensive plays were 72 rushes, as Jamaal Williams also topped the 100-yard mark with 182 yards on 30 carries, and Paul Lasike finished with 87 yards on 15 carries. BYU came back from a 14-10 deficit in the second quarter with 24 unanswered points.

"We played hard, physical and tough," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said after the game. "Our offensive plan was exceptional and I thought that our week or practice leading up to this game was one of the best I've seen since I've been the coach here."

This week's recognition marks the second time the BYU program has been named the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week since the award's inception in 2002. The Cougars were previously honored after upsetting No. 3 Oklahoma in Dallas Cowboys Stadium to open the 2009 season. BYU becomes only the 11th program to be honored multiple times since 2009, joining Baylor, Houston, Michigan State, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Stanford, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Washington. Here is a complete list of all-time recipients. 

Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Sept. 7 included:

• Georgia (1-1): The Bulldogs won their SEC opener, 41-30, over South Carolina . Aaron Murray threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns in an efficient 17-of-23 performance, and Todd Gurley ran for 136 yards and a touchdown.

• Miami (2-0): The Hurricanes earned a four-game win streak for the first time since 2008, beating in-state rival Florida, 21-16. Miami forced five turnovers and Stephen Morris tossed a pair of first-quarter touchdown passes.

• Washington State (1-1): Andrew Furney kicked a 41-yard field goal with 3:03 left to lift the Cougars to a 10-7 win over USC and their first win in the Los Angeles Coliseum in 13 years. Damante Horton was the catalyst for Washington State, returning an interception 70 yards for a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half, and stealing another with 2:18 to play to seal the win. Washington State held USC to 193 total yards, the Trojans' worst offensive output since 1989.

The Football Writers Association of America has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the ninth season that the award has been sponsored by the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Members of the FWAA All-America Committee decide the weekly honor. Each remaining Monday during the 2013 college football regular season, the FWAA will name the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week.

Founded in 1971, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl has hosted seven games that have decided the college football national championship, including four Bowl Championship Series title games. This season, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will be played on Jan. 1, 2014, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., and the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl will be played on Dec. 28, 2013, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,200 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 gameday 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 or 972-713-6198.

For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week, go to footballwriters.com or fiestabowl.org.