Benson, one of five finalists for the Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Week award, received 33% of the votes. The other candidates based on their order of finish in the voting were: Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson (27%), Oklahoma quarterback Jason White (19%), USC quarterback Matt Leinart (14%) and Utah quarterback Alex Smith (7%). All were selected by a panel of ABC Sports and ESPN college football analysts, led by John Saunders.

The Cingular Wireless/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Year is the final award in the Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Week program. The award marked the first time in college football history where fans were in command and could vote for who they thought was the best player in college football. Fans had from December 1 until December 8 to text-message their votes or submit them online at www.abcsportsallamerica.com or at ESPN.com.

The program culminated with the airing of the Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Show on December 11 at 2 p.m. EST in a one-hour special on ABC Sports. In addition to Benson being presented with the Player of the Year award, the Football Writers Association of America's 61st All-America Team was announced on Saturday afternoon and Derrick Johnson was named to the first team.

The FWAA All-America Team, the second-longest continuously-published team in college football, has been a staple of college football since 1944. But this is the first time in 15 years the team has been shown on television, during a program sponsored by Cingular.

Johnson was one of two repeat FWAA All-Americas from a year ago, along with Florida State senior offensive tackle Alex Barron. The following is the complete 2004 FWAA All-America Team:

OFFENSE
QB Alex Smith, Utah (6-4 212 Jr. La Mesa, Calif.)
RB J.J. Arrington, California (5-10 210 Sr. Nashville, N.C.)
RB Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma (6-2 210 Fr. Palestine, Texas)
WR Braylon Edwards, Michigan (6-3 208 Sr. Detroit, Mich.)
WR Taylor Stubblefield, Purdue (6-1 182 Sr. Yakima, Wash.)
TE Heath Miller, Virginia (6-5 255 Jr. Swords Creek, Va.)
OL David Baas, Michigan (6-5 323 Sr. Sarasota, Fla.)
OL Jammal Brown, Oklahoma (6-6 313 Sr. Lawton, Okla.)
OL Alex Barron, Florida State (6-6 308 Sr. Orangeburg, S.C.)
OL Chris Kemoeatu, Utah (6-4 338 Jr. Kahuku, Hawaii)
C Greg Eslinger, Minnesota (6-3 285 Jr. Bismarck, N.D.)

DEFENSE
DL Dan Cody, Oklahoma (6-5 270 Sr. Ada, Okla.)
DL Shaun Cody, USC (6-4 295 Sr. Hacienda, Calif.)
DL Jonathan Goddard, Marshall (6-0 245 Sr. Jacksonville, Fla.)
DL Erasmus James, Wisconsin (6-4 283 Sr. Pembroke Pines, Fla.)
DL David Pollack, Georgia (6-3 261 Sr. Snellville, Ga.)
LB Michael Boley, Southern Miss (6-3 228 Sr. Athens, Ala.)
LB Derrick Johnson, Texas (6-4 230 Sr. Waco, Texas)
DB Marlon Jackson, Michigan (6-1 196 Sr. Sharon, Pa.)
DB Carlos Rogers, Auburn (6-1 200 Sr. Augusta, Ga.)
DB Antrel Rolle, Miami (6-1 202 Sr. Homestead, Fla.)
DB Ernest Shazor, Michigan (6-4 229 Sr. Detroit, Mich.)

SPECIALISTS
K Mike Nugent, Ohio State (5-10 180 Sr. Centerville, Ohio)
P Brandon Fields, Michigan State (6-6 234 So. Toledo, Ohio)
KR Reggie Bush, USC (6-0 200 So. Spring Valley, Calif.)