DALLAS (FWAA) Beating its in-state rival for a fourth consecutive season while also taking control of its division race enabled the Michigan State Spartans (5-1) to earn the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week for games of the weekend of Oct. 15.
Keshawn Martin scored twice in the third quarter, and the Spartans held off the Wolverines late for a 28-14 win, matching Michigan State's longest win streak in the series since a four-game win streak from 1959-62.
Michigan, which suffered its first loss of the season, had a chance to tie it with 6:16 left but Denard Robinson was sacked on 4th-and-1 at the Michigan State 9-yard line. Michigan State then sealed it when Isaiah Lewis returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown with 4:31 left.
"For the rest of our life, we can walk the streets of Michigan," Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins said after the game.
Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Oct. 15 included:
Clemson (7-0): Tajh Boyd threw four touchdown passes, freshman Sammy Watkins scored three TDs and Clemson rallied from an 18-point deficit at Maryland to remain unbeaten with a 56-45 victory.
Virginia (4-2): Perry Jones had 149 of Virginia's 272 rushing yards as the Cavaliers upset Georgia Tech. Virginia sealed the victory by holding onto the ball for the final six minutes. Georgia Tech came in with one of the nation's top offenses, but Virginia held it to a season-low 296 yards.
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.