DALLAS (FWAA) The Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-1) took command of the Big 12 and avowed their BCS bowl-worthiness with a stunning 49-17 blowout of No. 4 Baylor. The win, in front of the first sellout in Boone Pickens Stadium history, earned the Cowboys the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Nov. 23.
The announcement came exclusively on SiriusXM Radio's "College Sports Today," hosted by Mark Packer and Eddie George.
OSU crushed Baylor's 13-game win streak behind Clint Chelf, who passed for a career-high 370 yards and accounted for four touchdowns. His previous career high came against Baylor last season. Chelf also had a 48-yard reception on a throw-back pass and finished with 438 of OSU's 594 yards of total offense.
The Cowboys' defense kept the high-flying Bears grounded. Baylor entered averaging 61.2 points and 685 yards per game, but was held in check most of the way. OSU forced three Baylor fumbles and had two fourth-down stops in the second half, but of which led to Cowboy touchdowns.
OSU is now 9-3 in its last 12 games against ranked opponents, and has won 10 or more games in three of the last four seasons. It had only three 10-win seasons in 102 seasons prior to head coach Mike Gundy's arrival in 2005. OSU can win the Big 12 title with a win over Oklahoma in two weeks. Baylor has not won in its last 11 games in Stillwater dating back to 1939.
"I'm convinced that our crowd and the sound affected some of the calls they were trying to make when the clock runs down with five or six seconds left because that's how they've done it all year," Gundy said after the game. "I can't say enough about our team. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I'm very proud of what our team accomplished tonight."
Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Nov. 23 included:
Arizona (7-4): The Wildcats shut down No. 5 Oregon on one end, and watched Ka'Deem Carey run for 208 yards and four touchdowns on the other in a 42-16 romp. It was Arizona's first win over a top-five opponent since 2007, also a win over Oregon. The Wildcats held Oregon 34 points and 80 yards below its season averages. Carey's big day included breaking the school's career rushing and touchdown records.
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.