DALLAS (FWAA) The West Virginia Mountaineers held the nation·s top offense to half its season average in points and yardage, and took out one of the six remaining unbeaten teams in a 41-27 win over No. 4 Baylor. The win the vaulted the Mountaineers (5-2) into a tie for second place in the Big 12 and earned them the Big Game National Team of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Oct. 18.
The announcement came exclusively on SiriusXM Radio's "College Sports Today," hosted by Mark Packer and Eddie George.
Clint Trickett threw touchdown passes of 36, 12 and 39 yards, but it was the WVU defense that grabbed attention by holding Baylor to 318 total yards and only 95 on the ground · just a week removed from a 61-point outburst against TCU. The Mountaineers scored the game's final 14 points to register the upset.
"Holding Baylor to 318 yards on (79) plays is not something I thought we would be able to do," said West Virginia coach Holgorsen said after the game. "We made the decision (that) we were just not going to let them sit back in the pocket and just it to an open space like they did last year. We didn't affect (Bryce) Petty one bit last year and they did a great job of affecting him. We got four sacks and we got to him early."
The win also earned the Mountaineers their first spot in the top-25 polls for the first time in exactly two years.
Other Big Game National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Oct. 18 included:
Alabama (6-1): The Crimson Tide routed Texas A&M, 59-0, marking Alabama's largest margin of victory ever over a ranked opponent, and its largest margin of victory overall since 1979. Alabama held the Aggies to 172 total yards (31 rushing) and eight first downs and handed them their first shutout in 11 seasons.
Florida State (7-0): The Seminoles extended their school-record win streak to 23 games with a nail-biting 31-27 win over No. 5 Notre Dame that wasn·t decided until the final seconds. FSU has now scored 30 or more points in 21 of its last 22 games.
Idaho (1-6): The Vandals ended the nation·s longest losing streak at 13 games with a 29-17 homecoming win over New Mexico State, and did it without starting quarterback Matt Linehan, who left with an injury on the first series. Chad Chalich stepped in and threw for 192 yards and a touchdown as Idaho rolled up a season-best 536 total yards, including 310 on the ground, its highest rushing total since 1996.
The Football Writers Association of America has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the first season The Big Game Football Factory has presented the award. 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.
Big Game USA is the largest American-owned football factory. Nearly half of all Football Bowl Subdivision programs play with a ball made by Big Game USA. This season, Big Game has introduced gametag, the latest development in football technology. It allows fans an opportunity to own a piece of football memorabilia, but more than that, gametag· offers complete authentication. Currently, four Division I schools (Mississippi State, Navy, Nebraska and Texas A&M) use balls equipped with gametag·. For more information about Big Game USA, visit biggameusa.com or contact Josh Eells at 972-292-0700 or jeells@biggameusa.com.
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