Stanford is Week 7 College Football Cheez-It/FWAA Team of the Week

October 18, 2023 by FWAA

DALLAS (FWAA) – The Stanford Cardinal scored on eight consecutive possessions in the second half and overtime, overcoming a 29-0 halftime deficit to stun Colorado 46-43 in Boulder last Friday night. For rallying with the largest halftime comeback in school and Pac-12 Conference history, Stanford earned the Cheez-It National Team of the Week for games the weekend of Oct. 14, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.

This is the seventh time for Stanford to earn the national team of the week honor from the FWAA.

It was a welcomed win for Stanford (2-4), taking its first road conference win since Sept. 11, 2021, at USC and snapping a seven-game Pac-12 losing streak. The Cardinal came to life in the second half, gaining 408 of their 523 yards after halftime. Quarterback Ashton Daniels threw for 396 yards and four touchdowns, with most of the yardage and three of the touchdowns to wide receiver Elic Ayomanor, who broke Stanford’s single-game school record with 294 receiving yards.

It took a 46-yard field goal from Stanford kicker Joshua Karty on the final play of regulation just to force overtime. The 523 total yards was the Cardinal's most since a Dec. 19, 2020, game at UCLA.

A 97-yard touchdown catch-and-run from Daniels to Ayomanor on a one-play drive midway through the third quarter kick-started the comeback getting Stanford to within 29-12. Ayomanor caught another 60-yard touchdown toss from Daniels minutes later to get the Cardinal within 29-19 entering the fourth quarter. The third of Ayomanor’s touchdown catches tied the game again on Stanford’s first official play of overtime.

On Colorado’s second overtime possession, Stanford safety Alaka’i Gilman intercepted a pass in the Cardinal end zone, and Karty converted the 31-yard field goal on Stanford’s ensuing possession.

"We made some big plays. They were playing a lot of man coverage, which we expected coming in,” Stanford head coach Troy Taylor said. “We just didn't create much space at the wide receiver in the first half. We were winning the one-on-one matchups and we had a total turnaround. In the second half, we won those matchups, created big plays and then once you get it rolling, you got an opportunity to score some points, which we did."

Stanford hosts UCLA at 10:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN.Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2023 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Cheez-It "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.

The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Oct. 14 were:

• Colorado State (3-3): Rams receiver Dallin Holker dove and rolled through a catch to complete a 33-yard Hail Mary pass on the final play as Colorado State beat Boise State for the first time, 31-30, ending a 12-game losing streak after being the only program in the Mountain West which had never beaten the Broncos. All it took was matching the biggest comeback in school history with 20 points in the final 6:12, with the winning score finishing an 82-yard drive in 33 seconds. The Rams had trailed 17-0 at halftime.
  
  
• Notre Dame (6-2): The No. 21 Fighting Irish’s balanced offense (126 pass yards, 125 rush yards) protected the ball and calmly took advantage of multiple miscues by No. 10 USC, earning a 48-20 home win. Notre Dame’s defense intercepted Caleb Williams three times – the most of his career – and added six sacks. The 28-point win is Notre Dame’s most lopsided victory over a top-10 team since a 28-point win over No. 5 USC in 1995.
  
  
• Washington (6-0): Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Rom Odunze with 1:38 remaining and Washington survived Oregon’s missed 43-yard field goal as time expired, leaving No. 7 UW with a 36-33 win over the No. 8 Ducks. Penix needed just two plays to go 53 yards in 33 seconds after Oregon was stopped on fourth-and-three at the Washington 47 with 2:11 remaining. Penix threw a 35-yard strike to Ja’Lynn Polk between two defenders, then hit Odunze on a back-shoulder throw at the goal line for the winning score.

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Florida Citrus Sports is a not-for-profit event management organization dedicated to positively impacting the Orlando region while enhancing the quality of life in Central Florida through world-class events, including the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Florida Blue Florida Classic, the Camping World Kickoff and the FC Series. For more information, visit FloridaCitrusSports.com.

Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,100 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 game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, visit sportswriters.net.

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2023 FWAA All-America Committee
Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman (Chair)
Travis L. Brown, Bryan-College Station Eagle
Ken Capps, Freelance
Angelique Chengelis, Detroit News
Brett Ciancia, Pick Six Previews
Scott Dochterman, The Athletic
Scott Farrell, collegepressbox
Bryan Fischer, FOX Sports
John Hoover, All Sooners
Mike Huguenin, Freelance
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Nate Mink, Syracuse Post-Standard
Ben Portnoy, The State
Tony Siracusa, Last Word on College Football
Phil Steele, Phil Steele Publications
Dusty Thibodeaux, WarhawkReport.com
Ryan Thorburn, Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune
John Wagner, County News Review (Minn.)
Jon Wilner, Bay Area News Group