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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