Oct. 2, 2006
ATLANTA–With their 38-27 win at Virginia Tech, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4-1, 2-0 ACC) are the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week, as selected by the pollsters of the FWAA’s Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll for games of the weekend of Sept. 30.
The win puts Georgia Tech, now ranked 18th, atop the ACC Coastal Division standings as the only team in the division without a conference loss. The Jackets return home to host Maryland Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU).
The Ramblin’ Wreck jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the game’s first 10:48 as Calvin Johnson caught a pair of touchdown passes and Tashard Choice ran for a third score. Georgia Tech then held the Hokies to 42 yards rushing on the day and built a 38-13 lead after three quarters. The 38 points scored by Georgia Tech represent the most points scored on Virginia Tech since 2002 and the most points by a visiting team at Lane Stadium since 2994.
Johnson finished the day with six catches for 115 yards and Choice ran for 105 yards on 18 carries, including two touchdowns.
Tech earns the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week for the second time in eight games. The Jackets were also honored after their victory at third-ranked Miami last November. Those two victories are among Tech’s seven wins over nationally-ranked teams under head coach Chan Gailey, with six of them coming on the road.
Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Sept. 30 included:
• BYU (3-2): The Cougars stopped the nation’s longest winning streak at 13 games with a decisive 31-17 win at TCU.
• Illinois (2-3): The Fighting Illini stunned Michigan State, 23-20, on Jason Reda’s 39-yard field goal with six seconds remaining.
• Rice (1-4): Following the death of teammate Dale Lloyd, the owls dominated Army at West Point, 48-14, to register their first win of the season.
The FWAA has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the second season that the award has been sponsored by the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
The 16 pollsters of the Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll decide the weekly honor. Each Monday during the 2006 college football season, the FWAA will name the Tostitos Bowl National Team of the Week through Nov. 27.
The top-ranked team in the final Super 16 Poll will be awarded the Grantland Rice Trophy as the FWAA’s national champion. The FWAA has awarded the trophy each season since 1954. Texas is the defending FWAA national champion.
Since 1971, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl has hosted five games that have decided the college football national championship, including two Bowl Championship Series title games. The 2007 game will be played on Jan. 1. The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, along with the new Tostitos BCS Championship Game, moves to the new Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The BCS title game will be played on Jan. 8.
