DALLAS (FWAA) The North Dakota State Bison headlined a banner weekend for teams from the Football Championship Subdivision by
knocking off Kansas State on the road, 24-21. The two-time defending FCS champions are the
Tostitos Fiesta
Bowl National Team of the Week for games of the weekend of Aug. 31.
The announcement came exclusively on SiriusXM Radio's "College Sports Today," hosted by Mark Packer and Eddie George.
Bison quarterback Brock Jensen engineered an 18-play, 80-yard march over 8:30 for the deciding touchdown, which he scored
on a keeper with 28 seconds remaining to cap a comeback from a 21-7 third-quarter deficit. Jensen converted four third-down plays on the final drive, and had two touchdowns in the game.
In joining Appalachian State as just the second team
from the FCS to earn National Team of Week honors, NDSU (1-0) can now add the defending Big 12 champions to its list of recent Football Bowl Subdivision victims. The Bison also own wins over Colorado State, Minnesota and Kansas in the last three seasons.
"We have a remarkable program. We have a remarkable group of seniors and they have a tremendous amount of confidence,"
said head coach Craig Bohl after the game. "They are not cocky, they have a strong conviction, and we even talked about
that during the course of being down by a couple possessions. It certainly does not surprise us but I think it is just
another notch. We have had a lot of these type of wins, but never over a program like this."
Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Aug. 31 included:
Clemson (1-0): The No. 8 Tigers opened with a win in the first season-opening meeting of top-10 teams in school
history, toppling No. 5 Georgia, 38-35. Clemson secured the back-and-forth game when Stanton Seckinger caught the last of
Tajh Boyd·s five touchdowns on the night (three passing, two rushing) with 7:40 remaining, giving the Tigers a 38-28 lead
and the only double-digit lead of the game.
Eastern Washington (1-0): The Eagles stole a road win over
No. 25 Oregon State, 49-46, as quarterback Vernon Adams scored on a two-yard run
with 18 seconds left. EWU rallied twice in the final 13:46 and survided a last-second field goal miss by the Beavers.
Washington (1-0): Keith Price completed 23-of-31 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns, and Bishop Sankey rolled up
161 rushing yards and two more scores as the Huskies opened ithe new Husky Stadium with a 38-6 runaway over No. 19 Boise State,
which was held without a touchdown for the first time since 1997.
The Football Writers Association of America has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the
ninth 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 2013 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. 1, 2014, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., and the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl will be played on
Dec. 28, 2013, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization
founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,200 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 972-713-6198.
For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week, go to footballwriters.com or fiestabowl.org.