Oct. 28, 2005
The national player of the week votes are in and counted. For the second time this season, college football fans have selected Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn as the Cingular Wireless/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Week, the only major college football honor determined exclusively by fans. Quinn garnered 53% of the fan vote after racking up 467 total yards, recording a school record of six touchdowns and a single-season touchdown record of 20 in the Irish’s 49-23 win over BYU Saturday.
Quinn was one of four candidates for the All-America Player of the Week, who are selected by a panel of ABC Sports and ESPN college football analysts. The other finalists were: University of Missouri quarterback Brad Smith (24%), University of Memphis running back DeAngelo Williams (13%) and UCLA quarterback Drew Olson (10%).
Previous Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Week winners this season include Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley, Texas A&M quarterback Reggie McNeal, Minnesota running back Laurence Maroney, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, and UCLA running back Maurice Drew.
Throughout the season, the nominees are announced Sunday morning at 9 a.m. EDT on ESPN. Then, fans have until the following Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. EDT to submit their votes via wireless text messaging.* The winner is announced every Thursday night during the first half of the ESPN Thursday Night College Football game. Fans can learn more about the award and each week’s nominees online at www.abcsportsallamerica.com or at www.cingularallamerica.com. Here’s how fans can register to vote for the Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Week throughout the 2005 season:
- Text “VOTE” to “87654” on yourwireless phone
- Follow the prompt to vote for your All-America selection
- Cingular/ABC Sports Player of the Week candidates will be automatically sent out via text messaging each week
Each time fans vote, they are entered into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the Bowl Championship Series game of their choice. Fans can vote as often as they like.
In December, fans will get a chance to say who the best player in the nation is by voting for the Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Year. The selection process will culminate in December in a one-hour special on ABC Sports when the Cingular/ABC Sports Player of the Year and the Football Writers Association of America All-America team will be announced. Last year, University of Texas running back and Chicago Bears first round draft pick Cedric Benson was selected by fans as the Player of the Year.
*Other wireless carriers must opt-in for their subscribers to participate