DALLAS (FWAA) The tidal wave of upsets in college football last weekend began on Friday night in Ames, Iowa, as the Iowa State Cyclones (6-4) engineered a 17-point second-half comeback and a 37-31 overtime win over No. 2 Oklahoma State to earn the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week for games of the weekend of Nov. 19.
The Cyclones churned out 568 yards of total offense, the last of it coming on a 4-yard touchdown dive by Jeff Woody on ISU's second overtime possession. Ter'Ran Benton set up the dramatic finish by intercepting an Oklahoma State pass on the previous possession. Iowa State held Oklahoma State, which averaged 51 points per game coming into the game, to 24 points in regulation.
"We've got a blue collar football team," head coach Paul Rhoads said after the game. "We got a group of young men that put their hard hats on every day and just continue to go to work. I could not be prouder of the effort they put out tonight. It was complete team effort and that is what we needed for victory and that is what we delivered."
Iowa State, which is now bowl-eligible, was 0-56-2 all-time against teams ranked No. 6 or higher coming into the game with the Cowboys.
Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Nov. 19 included:
Baylor (7-3): The upset trend continued in Waco, Texas, as Robert Griffin III brought Baylor back in the final minute again, scoring on a 34-yard pass to Terrance Williams with eight seconds remaining to give the Bears a memorable 42-35 win over Oklahoma. It was Baylor's first win over Oklahoma in the 21-game series. Griffin set a school record with 476 passing yards on only 21 completions, and led the Bears with 72 rushing yards.
USC (9-2): Matt Barkley threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns as the Trojans went into Oregon's Autzen Stadium and ended the nation's longest home winning streak at 21 games, 38-35. Robert Woods caught seven passes for 53 yards and two touchdowns for the Trojans, who jumped on top early then weathered Oregon's furious fourth-quarter rally.
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.