DALLAS (FWAA) The Virginia Tech Hokies gave notice to the ACC and the nation that they are ready to return to the national picture with their resounding 35-21 win at Ohio State. The unranked Hokies' win ended the Buckeyes· 64-game home win streak against non-conference competition and earned them the Football Writers Association of America National Team of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Sept. 6.
The announcement came exclusively on SiriusXM Radio's "College Sports Today," hosted by Mark Packer and Houston Nutt.
The Hokies (2-0) became the first unranked non-conference opponent to win in Columbus since 1982, and did it in front of a stadium-record crowd of 107,517. The then-No. 8 Buckeyes are the highest-ranked team Virginia Tech has ever beaten on the road.
Virginia Tech, which led 21-7 at halftime, never trailed and answered game-tying Ohio State touchdowns with go-ahead scores of its own three times. Hokie cornerback Donovan Riley sealed the game with a 63-yard interception return for a touchdown with 46 seconds left.
"What was going through my mind was 107,000 fans getting quiet and Hokie Nation getting in an uproar," Riley said. "I live for moments like that, and my teammates live for moments like that. To come in as an underdog and end a streak that started before I was even born, Im very appreciative."
Other FWAA National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Sept. 6 included:
Oregon (2-0): The Ducks scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to take out then-No. 7 Michigan State, 46-27, and win the first matchup of top-10 teams in the history of Autzen Stadium. The Ducks snapped the defending Big Ten and Rose Bowl champions' 11-game win streak behind Marcus Mariota, who finished with 318 yards passing and three touchdowns.
USC (2-0): Andre Heidari kicked a career-long 53-yard field goal with 2:30 left, and the Trojans forced a takeaway at their own 26 with 19 seconds left to give new head coach Steve Sarkisian a 13-10 win at then-No. 13 Stanford. Javorius Allen ran for a career-high 154 yards and Nelson Agholor had a career-high nine receptions for 91 yards as USC won at Stanford for the first time since 2008.
The Football Writers Association of America has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. Members of the FWAA All-America Committee decide the weekly honor. Each remaining Monday during the 2014 college football regular season, the FWAA will name a National Team of the Week.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization
founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,400 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 214-870-6516.