Syracuse Is National Team of the Week

For Immediate Release

With their 23-22 win over Notre Dame, the Syracuse Orangemen (10-1) are the Southern Fans' National Team of the Week for games of the weekend of Nov. 22, and the first team from the Big East to lay claim to the award. The Atlantic Coast Conference is now the only BCS conference to not have a team receive the honor.

Cameron Dantley, son of one of Notre Dame's basketball greats, threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Donte Davis with 42 seconds left to lead Syracuse to a 24-23 victory Saturday against the stunned and disheartened Irish. The victory allowed Syracuse to avoid a third 10-loss season in four years under lame-duck coach Greg Robinson.

The Orange trailed 23-10 in the fourth quarter before rallying as Notre Dame struggled mightily on offense. The Irish strated four possessions inside the Syracuse 23-yard line, but the Orange held them to just six points.

In the midst of an eight-loss season, the Orange have already lost their head coach, but were able to pull out a last minute win in South Bend to hand Notre Dame its first loss to an eight-loss team in school history.

Other nominees for this week's Southern Fans' National Team of the Week:

No. 5 Oklahoma
vs. No. 1 Texas Tech 65-21
Sam Bradford threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns and DeMarco Murray (125 yards) and Chris Brown (108) combined for five touchdown runs as the Sooners used a 35-point second quarter to roll up 625 yards of offense and score the most points ever allowed by top-ranked Texas Tech.

Ole Miss
at LSU 31-13
In the newly dubbed Magnolia Bowl, Jevan Snead threw two touchdown passes, Markeith Summers ran for a 13-yard score out of the "Wild Rebel" formation and Ole Miss won its fourth straight game, and first against LSU since 2001.


The Southern Fans' Poll began naming a national team of the week this season. Members of the Southern Fan's pool of voters decide the weekly honor. Each Monday during the 2008 college football season, the Southern Fans will name the National Team of the Week through Dec. 1.

2008 Southern Fans' National Teams of the Week
• Weekend of Aug. 30: Alabama
• Weekend of Sept. 6: East Carolina
• Weekend of Sept. 13: Southern California
• Weekend of Sept. 20: Louisiana State
• Weekend of Sept. 27: Ole Miss
• Weekend of Oct. 4: Vanderbilt
• Weekend of Oct. 11: Texas
• Weekend of Oct. 18: TCU
• Weekend of Oct. 25: Penn State
• Weekend of Nov. 1: Texas Tech
• Weekend of Nov. 8: Iowa
• Weekend of Nov. 15: Houston
• Weekend of Nov. 22: Syracuse