DALLAS (FWAA) With their 31-28 win over Iowa, the
Indiana Hoosiers (4-3) 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. 14.
James Hardy caught three touchdown passes and Kellen Lewis threw for a career-high 255 yards and three scores for the Hoosiers. Hardy's three-touchdown game was the first by an IU receiver since 1983.
The Hoosiers scored 24 of the game's final 31 points to come away with the upset victory, their first over a top-15 team since Oct. 10, 1987, against then No. 9 Ohio State. Iowa was No. 15 in the Associated Press poll entering the game.
"It's special for the team and special for the program because Iowa is ranked ... for a reason. They are obviously a very good football team," said Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner after the game. It was Hoeppner's third game back on the sidelines after undergoing brain surgery.
Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Oct. 14 included:
Auburn (6-1): The Tigers bounced back from a loss to Arkansas to beat previously unbeaten Florida, 27-17, with help from 19 unanswered points.
Vanderbilt (3-4): Bryant Hahnfeldt nailed a 33-yard field goal in the final seconds to give the Commodores a 24-22 win over Georgia in Athens, ending an 11-game losing streak vs. the Bulldogs.
The FWAA has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the second 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 2006 college football season, the FWAA will name the Tostitos Bowl National Team of the Week through Nov. 27.
The Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll will resume this season on Tues., Oct. 17. 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. Texas is the defending FWAA national champion and Ohio State is ranked No. 1 in the initial 2006 poll.
Since 1971, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl has hosted five games that have decided the college football national championship, including two Bowl Championship Series title games. The 2007 game will be played on Jan. 1. The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, along with the new Tostitos BCS Championship Game, moves to the new Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., and will be played on Jan. 8.
For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week, go to
www.footballwriters.com or www.fiestabowl.org.