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Five Finalists Announced for Cingular Wireless/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Year Award Fan Voting Between December 1st and 8th Will Determine the Winner ATLANTA, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The nominations are in and it's time for fans to vote on who they think is the best college football player in 2004. Cingular Wireless today announced the five finalists for the Cingular Wireless/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Year award. The candidates include Texas running back Cedric Benson, Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart, Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson, Utah quarterback Alex Smith and Oklahoma quarterback Jason White. All were selected by a panel of ABC Sports and ESPN college football analysts, led by John Saunders, and the winner will be determined exclusively by fan voting between December 1 and 8. The credentials of the candidates are quite impressive and between them, their teams have a combined record of 43-1 and are all ranked among the Top 6 in the current BCS rankings. Below is a statistical overview of each player's season (NCAA rankings in parenthesis): Cedric Benson (SR) - running back - University of Texas 1,764 yards rushing (3), 19 touchdowns (2), 160.4 yards/game (3) Notes: Week 9 nominee for All-America Player of the Week; ten 100-yard rushing games this season; ranks sixth all-time among Division I-A rushers with 5,470 yards Matt Leinart (JR) - quarterback - University of Southern California 2,748 yards passing, 28 touchdowns (T6), 66.2% completions, 157.5 QB rating (8) Notes: Week 12 All-America Player of the Week; tied school record with five touchdown passes against Notre Dame; has thrown two or more touchdown passes in 22 of his 24 starts Adrian Peterson (FR) - running back - University of Oklahoma 1,671 yards rushing (5), 12 touchdowns, 151.2 yards/game (7) Notes: Only player to win All-America Player of the Week three times (Weeks 5, 8 & 11); tied the NCAA record for most 100-yard rushing games by a freshman with 10 Alex Smith (JR) - quarterback - University of Utah 2,624 yards passing, 28 touchdowns (T6), 66.1% completions, 174.9 QB rating (2) Notes: Only All-America Player of the Year finalist without a Player of the Week nomination this season; also has 10 rushing touchdowns Jason White (SR) - quarterback - University of Oklahoma 2,707 yards passing, 30 touchdowns (T2), 64.3% completions, 162.3 QB rating (6) Notes: Week 9 All-America Player of the Week; completed school-record 18 consecutive passes against Nebraska; 2003 Heisman Trophy winner The Cingular Wireless/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Year honor marks the first time in college football history where fans are in command and can vote on who they think is the best player in college football. Fans have from December 1 until December 8 to text-message their votes or submit them online at http://www.abcsportsallamerica.com/ or at ESPN.com (keyword: cingular). 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 and the All-America team (selected by the Football Writers Association of America) will be announced. Here's how fans can vote for the Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Year: - Text "PLAYER" to "64444" on your wireless phones* - Follow the prompt to vote for your All-America Player of the Year selection - Alternatively, go to http://www.abcsportsallamerica.com/ or log onto http://www.espn.com/ and enter keyword "Cingular" For fans voting on their wireless phones, they need only register one time. Then the five candidates for Player of the Year will automatically be sent to their wireless phones. Each time fans vote, they will be entered into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the Bowl Championship Series game of their choice or thousands of other instant prizes. Fans can vote as many times as they would like. 2004 Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Week 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 November 20 - Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma RB November 27 - Matt Leinart, USC QB *Other wireless carriers must opt-in for their subscribers to participate ABOUT CINGULAR WIRELESS Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving more than 46 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE:BLS), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(SM), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/ . Get Cingular Wireless press releases e-mailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://www.cingular.com/newsroom . DATASOURCE: Cingular Wireless CONTACT: Bates Grainger of Career Sports & Entertainment, +1-770-955-1300, or ; or Clay Owen of Cingular Wireless, +1-404-236-6153, or Web site: http://www.cingular.com/ http://www.abcsportsallamerica.com/ http://www.espn.com/ http://www.cingular.com/newsroom

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