Big 12 South rivalry heads to Stillwater as two O’Brien Semifinalists go head-to-head 

FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 28, 2009) – The 2009 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award^® (The O’Brien) Semifinalist Match-up for week nine highlights two returning O’Brien Semifinalists, Zac Robinson and Colt McCoy, as they square off in a Big 12 South showdown. Fans can show their support for Robinson and McCoy, as well as any of the other 13 Semifinalists, by visiting www.VoteOBrien.org and voting as often as once daily. The Fan Vote will count as 5% of the total vote in determining the Finalists.

Semifinalist Marquee Match-up:

Texas (Colt McCoy) at Oklahoma State (Zac Robinson)
Saturday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. (CST) on ABC/ESPN 2
The No. 3 BCS ranked Texas Longhorns and the No. 14 Oklahoma State Cowboys are set to collide on the gridiron this Saturday in Stillwater. The Cowboys (6-1, 3-0) look to upset the Longhorns (7-0, 4-0) and deliver their first loss of the season.

McCoy leads the powerful Texas offense with the second highest completion percentage (71.7) in the nation. In last weekend’s 41-7 blowout at Missouri, McCoy completed 26 of 31 passes and threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns.

Senior signal-caller Robinson is on the heels of breaking the Cowboys’ all-time leading passer record, currently held by Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy. Robinson is only 218 yards shy of surpassing Gundy’s 7,997 passing yards. Robinson threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns in last Saturday’s 34-7 victory over Baylor.

Additional Semifinalist Games (alphabetical by last name):

• Matt Barkley: No. 5 USC at No. 10 Oregon
  Saturday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. (CST) on ABC
  The true freshman quarterback Barkley completed 15 of 25 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the Trojans’ 42-36 win over Oregon State last weekend.
• Daryll Clark: No. 12 Penn State at Northwestern
  Saturday, Oct. 31at 3:30 p.m. (CST) on ESPN
  Leading the Big Ten with 17 touchdowns this season and a passer rating of 148.4, Clark tied his career high of four touchdown passes in the last week’s 35-10 defeat over Michigan. During the game, Clark, a 2008 O’Brien Semifinalist, also broke a school record with his 55th career touchdown.
• Jimmy Clausen: No. 23 Notre Dame vs. Washington State    
  Saturday, Oct. 31 at 6:30 p.m. (CST) on NBC
  Clausen leads the Fighting Irish to San Antonio, Texas to take on the Washington State Cougars. Clausen is ranked second in the nation in pass efficiency with a quarterback rating of 161.3.
• Jacory Harris: No. 19 Miami at Wake Forest
  Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on ABC
  The sophomore quarterback Harris has thrown for 1,774 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. Harris completed 17 of 27 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns in the Hurricanes’ 40-37 overtime loss to Clemson last Saturday.
• Case Keenum: No. 18 Houston vs. Southern Miss
  Saturday, Oct. 31 at 12 p.m. (CST)
  Keenum completed 25 of 36 passes and one touchdown in the Cougars’ 38-15 win over SMU last weekend. The victory marked the junior signal-caller’s 23rd straight game with a touchdown pass, totaling 20 touchdowns for the season.
• Dan LeFevour: Central Michigan at Boston College   
  Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on ESPNU
  Senior quarterback LeFevour completed 16 of 22 passes for 147 yards and one touchdown in the Chippewas’ victory over Bowling Green last Saturday. LeFevour has thrown for 1,696 yards and 16 touchdowns this season.
• Kellen Moore:  San Jose State at No. 7 Boise State
  Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. (CST) on ESPN360.com
  Moore and the Broncos are coming off a win over Hawaii last week where he threw a career high of five touchdown passes. The senior leads the nation with a quarterback rating of 171.3.
• Tony Pike (out for injury): No. 8 Cincinnati at Syracuse
  Saturday, Oct. 31 at 11 a.m. (CST) on ESPNU
  Despite sitting out last week’s game against Louisville due to injury, senior quarterback Pike has thrown for 1,633 yards and 15 touchdowns this season and has a quarterback rating of 155.10. He hopes to be back in action next week against Connecticut.
• Todd Reesing: Kansas at Texas Tech
  Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on ABC
  The senior quarterback and returning O’Brien Semifinalist heads to Texas Tech in hopes of adding to this season’s 2,204 passing yards and end a two-game losing streak. On the season, Reesing has 15 touchdowns and has completed185 of 285 attempts. 
• Ricky Stanzi: Indiana at No. 4 Iowa
  Saturday, Oct. 31 at 11 a.m. (CST) on ESPN
  Stanzi and the Iowa Hawkeyes (8-0) look to Saturday to continue their undefeated season. The junior quarterback comes off a narrow victory against Michigan State where he had 138 yards and one touchdown.
• Tim Tebow: Florida vs. Georgia
  Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on CBS
  The senior quarterback heads into Saturday’s game against conference rival Georgia and looks to extend the season long winning streak. The 2007 O’Brien winner and 2008 O’Brien Semifinalist hopes to build on his 1,987 yards and continue his dual threat by increasing his 466 rushing yards.

About The O’Brien Fan Vote
Fans can now register and vote for any of the Semifinalists online at www.VoteOBrien.org. The Fan Vote counts as 5% during each round of the voting process and 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 live 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. 

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 27, 2009) – Beginning Saturday, October 31, the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award^® (The O’Brien) will kick off The O’Brien On-the-Road Campaign. Over the next four weekends, The O’Brien On-the-Road Campaign will visit a home game for each of the 15 Semifinalists to promote each quarterback’s campaign for The O’Brien. In conjunction with the online Fan Vote, college football enthusiasts and fans alike are encouraged to stop by The O’Brien display and vote for their favorite Semifinalist. Fans who vote at The O’Brien display will automatically be entered into the “Defend Your Pride. Vote O’Brien Sweepstakes,” for a chance to win a trip for two to the 2010 O’Brien Awards Dinner at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas. The O’Brien displays will be open pre-game through kickoff. 

Fans not able to cast a vote in person can register and vote at www.VoteOBrien.org. Online fan voting will close at noon CST on Nov. 22 and Finalists will be announced on Nov. 23. Finalists will be selected by The O’Brien Selection Committee, comprised of journalists, broadcasters, commentators and former winners, with the Fan Vote accounting for 5 % of the total vote.

Week 9: The O’Brien On-the-Road Campaign Locations (listed by player’s last name)

• Case Keenum
  Southern Miss at Houston on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 12 p.m. (CST)
• Kellen Moore
  San Jose State at Boise State on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. (CST) on ESPN360.com
• Zac Robinson
  Texas at Oklahoma State on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. (CST) on ABC/ESPN 2
• Ricky Stanzi
  Indiana at Iowa on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 11 a.m. (CST) on ESPN

About The O’Brien Fan Vote
Fans can now register and vote for any of the Semifinalists online at www.VoteOBrien.org. The Fan Vote counts as 5% during each round of the voting process and 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 live 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.

# # #

FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 26, 2009) – The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award^® (The O’Brien) announced today its 2009 O’Brien Semifinalist List. Narrowed down from all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) quarterbacks, the list highlights 15 individuals who will vie for the oldest and most prestigious award honoring the nation’s best college quarterback. The 2009 O’Brien Semifinalists represent schools from the following conferences: ACC (1), Big East (2), Big Ten (2), Big 12 (3), Conference USA (1), Independent (1), Mid-American (1), Pac-10 (2), SEC (1) and the WAC (1).

2009 O’Brien Semifinalists 

Matt Barkley                FR       USC                             Pac-10
Daryll Clark                 SR       Penn State                    Big Ten
Jimmy Clausen            JR        Notre Dame                  Independent
Jacory Harris               SO       Miami                           ACC
Case Keenum              JR        Houston                       Conference USA
Dan LeFevour              SR       Central Michigan            Mid-American
Jake Locker                 JR        Washington                  Pac-10
Colt McCoy                 SR        Texas                          Big 12            
Kellen Moore               SO        Boise State                 WAC
Tony Pike                    SR        Cincinnati                    Big East
Todd Reesing               SR       Kansas                        Big 12
Zac Robinson               SR       Oklahoma State            Big 12
Ricky Stanzi                 JR        Iowa                            Big Ten
Bill Stull                       SR       Pittsburgh                    Big East
Tim Tebow                   SR        Florida                        SEC 

“We are proud to recognize this group of young men for their performances on and off the field,” said Danielle Moorman, executive director of the Davey O’Brien Foundation. “The commitment, sportsmanship and leadership qualities exemplified by these quarterbacks truly embody the spirit of The O’Brien.”

The Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee, an elite group of journalists, broadcasters, commentators and former winners, selected The O’Brien Semifinalists, with the Fan Vote accounting for 5 % of the total vote. The Selection Committee is asked to evaluate each candidate on the criteria of his quarterback skills and athletic ability, academics, his reputation as a team player, character, leadership and sportsmanship. For a complete listing of the Selection Committee, visit www.DaveyOBrien.org.

Fans may now help determine which three quarterbacks will advance as Finalists by voting as often as once daily at www.VoteOBrien.org. Fan voting will close at noon CST on Nov. 22. Finalists will be announced on Nov. 23. The Fan Vote accounts for 5% of each round of the voting process. 

The 2009 O’Brien Winner will be announced live 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.

National College Football Awards Association
The O’Brien is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s official Web site, www.NCFAA.org. 

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

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O’Brien candidates go head-to-head in this week’s games

FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 21, 2009) – The 2009 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award^® (The O’Brien) Marquee Match-up for week eight features two O’Brien Watch List candidates. Throughout the season, The O’Brien highlights weekly match-ups, which spotlight O’Brien candidates as they vie for the prestigious award honoring the nation’s best quarterback in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

Marquee Match-up: Penn State University at the University of Michigan
Saturday, Oct. 24 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on ABC
In the final week before the 2009 O’Brien Semifinalists are announced on Oct. 26, Daryll Clark leads the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) 13^th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions to Ann Arbor to take on Tate Forcier and the University of Michigan Wolverines in a Big Ten showdown. Michigan (5-2) will put their undefeated home record on the line as the Nittany Lions (6-1), who have not won a game in the Big House since 1996, look to break this 13-year drought.

“I think we’ve played good, competitive football the times we’ve been there; they were just better than we were,” Penn State head coach Joe Paterno said. “I don’t think it’s particularly a tough place to play if you’re ready to go and you’ve got some kids that look forward to playing in places where there are 100,000 people there to watch you.”

The Nittany Lions look to keep the momentum going after last week’s 20-0 victory over Minnesota, in which Clark completed 21 of 32 passes and threw for 287 yards including a 12-yard pass touchdown pass to wide receiver Derek Moye.

With Forcier at the helm, the Wolverines look to keep their Rose Bowl hopes alive. The true freshman signal-caller, who has thrown for 1,027 yards and nine touchdowns, was named The O’Brien Quarterback of the Week after Michigan’s upset over Notre Dame in week two.

 Other Notable Games (based on start times)

• Minnesota (Adam Weber) at Ohio State (Terrelle Pryor)
  Saturday, Oct. 24 at 11 a.m. (CST) on ESPN
• Arkansas (Ryan Mallett) at Ole Miss (Jevan Snead)
  Saturday, Oct. 24 at 11:20 a.m. (CST) on ESPN360.com
• Oregon (Jeremiah Masoli) at Washington (Jake Locker)
  Saturday, Oct. 24 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on ABC
• TCU (Andy Dalton) at BYU (Max Hall)
  Saturday, Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m. (CST)
• Texas (Colt McCoy) at Missouri (Blaine Gabbert)
  Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. (CST) on ABC
• Oklahoma (Landry Jones) at Kansas (Todd Reesing)
  Saturday, Oct. 24 at 2:30 p.m. on ABC

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. 

# # #

Barkley leads Trojans to gripping win over Fighting Irish

FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 19, 2009) – The Davey O’Brien Foundation has named Matt Barkley of the University of Southern California the O’Brien Quarterback of the Week for week seven. Barkley directed the Trojans to their eighth straight win over Notre Dame. The 34-27 victory over the Fighting Irish secured the Trojans (5-1) the No. 7 spot in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) poll this week.

“I thought it was an extraordinary day for our quarterback,” said USC head coach Pete Carroll. “I think you see Matt Barkley is really something.”

Barkley led the Trojans into South Bend, where he threw for 380 yards of the total 501 yards of offense; a career high for the true freshman quarterback. He completed 19 of 29 passes and threw for two touchdowns to wide receiver Damian Williams.

The Trojans return to the Coliseum to take on Oregon State this Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST) on ABC.

Other quarterbacks who received votes in week seven included:

Joey Elliott                    Purdue                        Big Ten
Nick Foles                    Arizona                        Pac-10
Max Hall                       BYU                            Mountain West
Tyler Hansen                Colorado                       Big 12
Jacory Harris                Miami                           ACC                           
Case Keenum               Houston                       C-USA
Andrew Luck                Stanford                        Pac-10
Josh Nesbitt                 Georgia Tech                ACC
Ricky Stanzi                 Iowa                            Big Ten
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.

###

FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 15, 2009) – The Davey O’Brien Foundation has named Anna Glazer as the associate director of the foundation. Glazer will assist in the day to day operations of the foundation, including helping manage and execute activities surrounding the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award^®, O’Brien High School Scholarship and the awards dinner held at The Fort Worth Club annually in mid-February.

“Anna is going to be a great addition to our team,” said Danielle Moorman, executive director of the Davey O’Brien Foundation. “She brings insight from not only college football, but both NFL and NBA sports teams, which will help us to continue to grow and evolve our branding and awareness initiatives.”

Glazer makes the move from the Washington, D.C. area where she worked for various sports team such as the Washington Wizards and Washington Redskins. Most recently, she was employed by Meredith Communications where she assembled communication plans for clients and tracked pubic relations efforts. She is a graduate of the University of Texas and received her master’s degree in Sports Industry Management from Georgetown University.

About The Davey O’Brien Foundation
The Davey O’Brien Foundation (the Foundation) was founded in 1977 to honor and remember the strong character and leadership of football great, Davey O’Brien. Widely known for its Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award^®, the Foundation recognizes champions on and off the field through national awards programs encouraging academic and career success. 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 to leadership in life. The Davey O’Brien Legends Award was established in 2001 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Foundation and to pay tribute to Davey O’Brien. The Legends Award recognizes a college or professional quarterback who has made a significant contribution to the game of football, distinguished himself as an extraordinary leader and demonstrated exemplary conduct on and off the field. More information about the Foundation can be found at www.DaveyOBrien.org.

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O’Brien candidates go head-to-head in this week’s games

FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 14, 2009) – The 2009 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award^® (The O’Brien) Marquee Match-up for week seven features two O’Brien Watch List candidates. Throughout the season, The O’Brien will highlight weekly match-ups which spotlight O’Brien candidates as they vie for the prestigious award honoring the nation’s best quarterback in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

Marquee Match-up: Oklahoma vs. Texas
Saturday, Oct. 17 at 11a.m. (CST) on ABC
The No. 20 University of Oklahoma Sooners and the No. 3 University of Texas Longhorns will clash on neutral ground during the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. This Big 12 South Division match-up pits two of the most effective quarterbacks in the nation against each other.

“I think it is fair for two of the best quarterbacks in college history to play in this game together,” said Texas head coach Mack Brown in Monday’s press conference. 

Commanding the Longhorns’ (5-0) offense is senior quarterback Colt McCoy, in his fourth career start against Oklahoma. McCoy, who leads the nation with a 73.4 completion percentage, completed 32 of 39 attempted passes and threw for 265 yards and one touchdown in the Longhorns’ 38-14 win over Colorado last Saturday.

Last week Sam Bradford reemerged to lead the Sooners (3-2) to a 33-7 victory over the Baylor Bears. Oklahoma completed five scoring drives in the final six possessions with Bradford connecting with Adron Tennell for a 3-yard touchdown in his final play.  

This pivotal conference game features two returning O’Brien candidates, McCoy, a 2008 Finalist, and Bradford, 2008 O’Brien Winner, battling it out in their campaign for the coveted O’Brien Award.

 Other Notable Games (based on start times)

• Cincinnati (Tony Pike) at South Florida (B.J. Daniels)
  Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m. (CST) on ESPN
• Iowa (Ricky Stanzi) at Wisconsin (Scott Tolzien)
  Saturday, Oct. 17 at 11 a.m. (CST) on ESPN
• Arkansas (Ryan Mallett) at Florida (Tim Tebow)
  Saturday, Oct. 17 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on CBS
• Central Michigan (Dan LeFevour) at Western Michigan (Tim Hiller)
  Saturday, Oct. 17 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on ESPN360.com
• Minnesota (Adam Weber) at Penn State (Daryll Clark)
  Saturday, Oct. 17 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on ABC
• University of Southern California (Matt Barkley) at Notre Dame (Jimmy Clausen)
  Saturday, Oct. 17 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on NBC
• Virginia Tech (Tyrod Taylor) at Georgia Tech (Josh Nesbitt)
  Saturday, Oct. 17 at 5 p.m. (CST) on ESPN 2

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. 

# # #

Lewis leads the Blue Devils in defeat over NC State, 49-28

FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 12, 2009) – The Davey O’Brien Foundation has named Thaddeus Lewis, senior quarterback of Duke University, the O’Brien Quarterback of the Week for week six. Lewis adds his name to the 2009 O’Brien Watch List after leading his Blue Devils (3-3) to a 49-28 upset over the North Carolina State Wolfpack. 

The Blue Devil signal caller threw for a career-best 459 yards, completed 40 of 50 attempted passes and threw for five touchdowns to end an 11 game losing streak against the Wolfpack. Lewis also converted on 13 of 18 third down conversions and after a close first half, led his team to three unanswered touchdowns to close the game.

“You have to give Duke credit. Their passing game is very sophisticated and they have a guy at quarterback [Thaddeus Lewis] that can handle the offense,” said Tom O’Brien NC State head coach. “We had all kinds of trouble covering guys.”

Lewis and the Blue Devils have a bye week before they return home continuing conference play Oct. 24 against Maryland.

Other quarterbacks who received votes in week six included:

Sam Bradford         Oklahoma                Big 12
Case Keenum        Houston                  Conference USA
Dan LeFevour         Central Michigan      Mid-American
Colt McCoy            Texas                      Big 12
Christian Ponder     Florida State            ACC
Todd Reesing          Kansas                   Big 12
Steven Sheffield      Texas Tech              Big 12 
Riley Skinner          Wake Forest            ACC
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 33rd 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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O’Brien candidates go head-to-head in this week’s games

FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 7, 2009) – The 2009 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award^® (The O’Brien) Marquee Match-up for week six features two O’Brien Watch List candidates^{^}. Throughout the season, The O’Brien will highlight weekly match-ups which spotlight O’Brien candidates as they vie for the prestigious award honoring the nation’s best quarterback in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

Marquee Match-up: Florida at Louisiana State University
Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. (CST) on CBS
The No. 4 LSU Tiger’s have a date with the No.1 Florida Gators at home in Death Valley this Saturday. Both teams put their undefeated seasons on the line in this Southeastern Conference grudge match-up. Jordan Jefferson comes into this game after leading LSU’s gripping comeback and 20-13 win over Georgia. The Tigers (5-0) scored their only two touchdowns in the final 3 minutes of the game maintaining the No. 4 rank in the AP polls this week. This season the sophomore quarterback, Jefferson, has thrown for 920 yards and seven touchdowns.

Tim Tebow, 2007 O’Brien Winner, is ranked third in the nation with a quarterback rating of 170.3 over four games and has thrown six touchdown passes this season. In Tebow’s last performance, he led the Gators to a 41-7 victory over Kentucky in week four. The Gators (4-0) and senior signal caller Tebow, head to Baton Rouge after coming of a bye week.

With a lot at stake, historically the winner of this heated SEC rivalry game has gone on to win the last three BCS championship titles.

 ^{^} At the time of this release, Tebow’s status was pending awaiting
medical release for Saturday’s match-up.

Other Notable Games (based on start times)

• Nebraska (Zac Lee) at Missouri (Blaine Gabbert)
  Thursday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. (CST) on ESPN
• Auburn (Chris Todd) at Arkansas (Ryan Mallett)
  Saturday, Oct. 10 at 11 a.m. (CST) on ESPN
• Alabama (Greg McElroy) at Ole Miss (Jevan Snead)
  Saturday, Oct. 10 at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on CBS 

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. 

# # #

Clausen leads Fighting Irish to victory over Washington in OT, 37-30

FORT WORTH, Texas (Oct. 5, 2009) – The Davey O’Brien Foundation has named Jimmy Clausen of the University of Notre Dame the O’Brien Quarterback of the Week for week five. Clausen, a returning O’Brien Watch List candidate, led the Fighting Irish (4-1) to a 37-30 thrilling win over Washington in overtime. The win was the fourth straight game decided in the final 60 seconds for Notre Dame.   

The junior quarterback threw for a career-high 422 yards, which included a 67-yard TD pass to wide receiver Golden Tate. Clausen’s performance in Saturday’s victory over the Huskies propelled him to the top of the QB rankings with a rating of 179.3.

“He played a terrific game,” Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian said of Clausen. “There weren’t very many things that were just clean for him in the pocket. A lot of what he did was when pressure came, he was able to avoid the rush, buy time, kept his vision extremely well and made a lot of plays down the field.”

This week Notre Dame has a bye, but continues their home stand next Saturday, Oct. 17 when they will host the University of Southern California at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on NBC.

Other quarterbacks who received votes in week five included:

Jacory Harris                Miami                           ACC
Case Keenum               Houston                       Conference USA
Josh Nesbitt                 Georgia Tech                ACC
Aaron Opelt                  Toledo                         MAC
Tony Pike                     Cincinnati                    Big East
Tyrod Taylor                  Virginia Tech               ACC 

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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