ATLANTA, Nov. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Although Oklahoma running
back Adrian
Peterson is only a freshman, it didn't take him long to endear himself to
college football fans across the country. For the third time this season,
Peterson has been selected as the Cingular Wireless/ABC Sports All-America
Player of the Week after he rushed for 240 yards and three touchdowns in the
Sooners' 35-0 win at Baylor Saturday. Peterson was also selected for the
national honor, which is determined by fan voting, after 200-yard rushing
performances against Texas and Oklahoma State earlier this season. He
becomes
the only player to win the award three times.
With the Sooners' regular season now complete, Peterson ranks
third in the
country with 1,671 yards rushing. He tied an NCAA record for the most 100-
yard rushing games by a freshman with ten. Peterson, along with teammate
Jason White (who won the Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Week
award on November 6), have emerged as strong candidates in the Heisman Trophy
race.
Peterson 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, led by John Saunders. The other finalists were: Miami (FL)
quarterback Brock Berlin, who set career highs with 361 yards passing and four
touchdowns in the Hurricanes' 52-7 win over Wake Forest; Purdue quarterback
Kyle Orton, who passed for 522 yards and six touchdowns in the Boilermakers'
63-24 rout of Indiana; and Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith, who passed for
241 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 145 in the Buckeyes' 37-21 victory
over No. 7 Michigan.
On December 1, fans will also get a chance to determine who
the best
player in the nation is by voting for the Cingular/ABC Sports All-America
Player of the Year. Fans will have until December 8 to choose from among
five
finalists -- voting by either text messaging or online.
The selection process will culminate on December 11 at 2 p.m.
EST in a
one-hour special on ABC Sports when the Cingular Wireless/ABC Sports All-
America Player of the Year (selected by fans), and the All-America team
(selected by the Football Writers Association of America), will be announced.
Previous Winners
September 12 - Kyle Orton, Purdue QB
September 19 - Sonny Cumbie, Texas Tech QB
September 26 - Kyle Orton, Purdue QB
October 3 - David Greene, Georgia QB
October 10 - Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma RB
October 17 - Jason Campbell, Auburn QB
October 24 - Michael Hart, Michigan RB
October 31 - Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma RB
November 6 - Jason White, Oklahoma QB
November 13 - Carnell Williams, Auburn RB