DALLAS (FWAA) Storming from behind to register the biggest comeback in school history allowed the Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-1) to earn the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week for games of the weekend of Oct. 8.
Nebraska recorded its first Big Ten win, 34-27, over Ohio State, rallying from a 27-6 deficit in the third quarter to win before a NCAA-record 315th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium on Homecoming.
The game turned on Lavonte David's fumble recovery that provided a short field for Nebraska, which scored two plays later to get within 27-13. Taylor Martinez and Rex Burkhead each ran for more than 100 yards, with Burkhead providing the game-winning touchdown on a 17-yard burst with 5:10 left. Martinez finished with two touchdown passes among his season-high 16 completions, one of the a 30-yarder to Burkhead that tied the score with 7:44 to play.
"I thought we left some drives out there. We stayed the course," Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini said after the game. "That's kind of the motto of our program. It's about the culture, it's about the process, about staying the course. There was no panic. I'm proud of how they came out and played the second half."
Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Oct. 8 included:
Oklahoma (5-0): The Sooners shut down arch-rival Texas, scoring three defensive touchdowns along the way in a 55-17 rout in Dallas. Oklahoma scored the first four times it had the ball and led 34-10 at the half. It was the most-lopsided margin of victory in the series since 2003.
Wake Forest (4-1): The Demon Deacons moved to 3-0 for the first time during their 59-year membership in the ACC after a 35-30 upset win over Florida State. Wake Forest forced five turnovers and held off a Seminoles rally in the fourth quarter.
The Football Writers Association of America has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the seventh 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 2011 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. 2, 2012, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., and the Insight Bowl will be played on Dec. 30, 2011, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week, go to
footballwriters.com or fiestabowl.org.