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Oct. 21, 2007

NEW ORLEANS, La. - On the heels of his second record-setting performance of the 2007 season, Tulane University senior running back Matt Forté was named Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week, the Walter Camp Football Foundation announced Sunday afternoon.

A senior from Slidell, La., Forté earned the national honor for the second time this season after setting Tulane and Conference USA records with 342 yards rushing while scoring four touchdowns on 38 carries in the Green Wave's 41-34 overtime victory over SMU. Forté had two nine-yard touchdown runs - including what proved to be the game-winner in overtime -a five-yard scoring jaunt in the fourth quarter and a career-long 77-yard touchdown sprint in the second quarter.

Forté previously earned Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 23 when he initially set the school and league rushing marks with 303 yards against Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 22 in the Louisiana Superdome. He becomes the first player to earn the national honor twice in a season since 2004 when both Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson and Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton claimed the honor on a pair of occasions.

In addition to setting the Tulane and C-USA rushing record on Saturday, Forté also became just the third player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing barrier and now has 1,261 yards through seven games. He ranks first among NCAA Division I-Bowl Subdivision players in rushing yards and rushing yards per game (180.14). Forté moved into second place on the Tulane single-season rushing list and is on pace to shatter Mewelde Moore's school record of 1,421 (in 2001) by over 700 yards.

He had five carries for 34 yards in the first quarter of Saturday's game at SMU, six carries for 123 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter, 12 carries for 73 yards and a score in the third quarter, 12 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown in the fourth, and three carries for 15 yards and the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Forté averaged 9.0 yards per carry, including runs of 20, 27, 65 and 77 yards.

Forté's 342 yards yesterday and 303 yards against Southeastern Louisiana stand as the top two single-game rushing performances by a Division I-Bowl Subdivision student-athlete this season, and he now has four 200-plus yard rushing performances on the year.

He has run for at least 200 yards in three consecutive games, which is two games shy from the NCAA standard of five set by USC's Marcus Allen in 1981 and tied twice - by Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders in 1988 and by North Texas' Jamario Thomas in 2004.

In addition to the Walter Camp honor, Forté is also one of four nominees for the AT&T All-America Player of the Week Award. In the lone national award voted on by fans of the game, Forté joins Alabama wide receiver D.J. Hall, Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart and UCLA cornerback Al Verner on the ballot, which was selected by ESPN.

Fans can determine the winner by text messaging VOTE to 87654 on their wireless telephone. Voting will take place until 10:59 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday, Oct. 24, and the winner will be announced on Oct. 25 during Thursday's ESPN College Football Primetime presented by Applebee's football game between Boston College and Virginia Tech.

There is no limit on fan voting, and each vote counts as one entry into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the 2008 BCS National Championship game in the Louisiana Superdome. The AT&T All-America Player of the Week program will continue throughout the season, with the nominees being revealed each Sunday on ESPN's SportsCenter at 8 a.m. (CST) and on the web at www.espnallamerica.com.

Forté and the Green Wave return to action on Saturday, Oct. 27, when they celebrate Homecoming 2007 against Memphis at 2 p.m. in the Louisiana Superdome. Single-game tickets for the 2007 Green Wave season remain on sale through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office. Tickets can be purchased in person, over the telephone at (504) 861-WAVE or via the internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.