Forcier leads Wolverines to victory over Fighting Irish

FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 14, 2009) – The Davey O’Brien Foundation has named Tate Forcier of the University of Michigan the O’Brien Quarterback of the Week for week two. This honor adds him to The O’Brien Watch List previously announced in August. The Wolverines defeat of the then ranked No. 18 ranked Fighting Irish advanced them to No. 25 in the AP Top 25 poll this week.

In the long standing rivalry among two of the NCAA’s winningest schools in college football history, the true freshmen quarterback completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Greg Matthews with 11 seconds left to complete the game-winning drive leading his team to a victory over Notre Dame, 38-34. Forcier threw for 240 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 23-of-33 completions as well as ran for 70 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s kind of a unique individual,” Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez said of Forcier. “Everything around him may be going crazy, and yet he’s still calm in the middle of the storm. Some guys have that quality and he’s one of them.” Charlie Weis, Notre Dame’s head coach, concurred by saying, “For a freshman, I thought he managed the game very well.”

Michigan plays Eastern Michigan in “The Big House” this Saturday, Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. (CST) on the Big Ten Network.

Other quarterbacks who received votes in week two included:

Matt Barkley                USC                             Pac-10
Max Hall                      BYU                            Mountain West
Case Keenum              Houston                       Conference USA
Dan LeFevour              Central Michigan           Mid-America
Colt McCoy                 Texas                           Big 12
Tim Tebow                   Florida                         SEC

The O’Brien honors the nation’s best college quarterback of the year. Each week a subset of The O’Brien Selection Committee will name the quarterback of the week who exemplifies the award’s standards. Currently all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) quarterbacks are candidates for the award until Semifinalists are announced Oct. 26. Finalists will be announced Nov. 23 and the 2009 O’Brien Winner will be announced Dec. 10.

About The O’Brien Fan Vote
Fans can now register and vote for any of the 120 FBS quarterbacks online at www.VoteOBrien.org. The Fan Vote counts as 5% during each round of the voting process. The Fan Vote will be combined with the results from the Selection Committee, an elite group of journalists, commentators, broadcasters and former Winners. The 2009 O’Brien Winner will be announced on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show airing Dec. 10 on ESPN and will be honored at the 33^rd Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner held at The Fort Worth Club on Feb. 15, 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas.

About The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award^®
The O’Brien honors the nation’s best college quarterback of the year and inspires student-athletes to triumph both on and off the field. By recognizing and honoring athletes who excel in both sports and academics while exhibiting strong character and leadership, The O’Brien aims to help instill a lifelong moral fiber in each candidate. The O’Brien is overseen by the Davey O’Brien Foundation, which was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. The Foundation has given away more than $770,000 in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life. For more information, visit www.DaveyOBrien.org.

American Airlines is the official travel partner of The O’Brien.

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