Million Dollar Game Mid-Season Media Update

Eleven College Football Teams Play a Penalty-Free Game in Season's First Six Weeks of Action

If two teams play head-to-head penalty-free, Liberty Mutual Insurance to award $1 Million to Charity

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Oct 12, 2010, 11:30 ET

BOSTON, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- After six weeks of intense competition on the college gridiron, eleven teams have displayed the ultimate in on-field discipline and sportsmanship: zero penalties in a game. Yet no two teams have combined to play Liberty Mutual Insurance's "Million Dollar Game." Through the remainder of the regular season, if two teams are able to successfully play a penalty-free game against each other, Liberty Mutual will donate a total of $1 million (up to $500,000 per team) to a charity selected by each school.

So far, eleven teams have played penalty-free; however their opponents could not say the same.

Manchester College (Ind.), September 2, vs. Trine College
Eastern Michigan, September 4, vs. Army
Ole Miss, September 4, vs. Jacksonville State
Crown College (Minn.), September 4, vs. Carleton College
Saint John's (Minn.), September 4, vs. Northwestern College
Rockford College (Ill.), September 11, vs. Loras College
Ohio State, September 18, vs. Ohio
Merchant Marine Academy (N.Y.), September 25, vs. St. Lawrence
Springfield College (Mass.), September 25, vs. Alfred
Emporia State (Kan.), October 2, vs. Nebraska-Omaha
Northwestern College (Minn.), October 2 vs. MacMurray College

Quick penalty stats at a glance:

The FBS (Division I-A) teams with the fewest penalties as of October 11 are Indiana (17), Penn State (20), Wisconsin (20), Mississippi (21), Navy (22), Eastern Michigan (22) and Northern Illinois (22).*
Southern Miss tops the FBS chart for most penalties with 60, followed by Troy (55), Baylor (55), Arizona State (50), Florida International (50) and USC (49).*
You can win by playing responsibly and with discipline … Ohio State ranks among the top-20 teams with the lowest penalties (26) and is currently ranked #1 in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls. South Carolina, which upset previous #1 Alabama, also ranks among the top-20 for fewest penalties (24).
One penalty can make a difference –Tennessee's last-play too-many-men-on-the-field infraction turned a would-be victory into a loss to LSU on October 2.
Northwestern College (Minn.) has played in two games this season in which one of the teams was penalty-free.

About the Million Dollar Game:

The "Million Dollar Game" is a unique opportunity to celebrate college football teams across Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A), Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), Division II and Division III who play penalty-free for an entire 2010 regular season game. If a regular season game is completed in which neither team commits an on-field penalty, Liberty Mutual will donate a total of $1 million (up to $500,000 per team) to a charity selected by each school. If more than one game is completed penalty-free, the million-dollar donation will be split among all winning schools' charities. Pioneering the pursuit of sportsmanship, discipline and responsibility on the field, the quest for the penalty-free game is taking place for the first time during the 2010 season in conjunction with the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, which honors the coaches who give back to their teams, schools and communities, on and off field, with sportsmanship, integrity, responsibility and excellence. For additional information visit www.coachoftheyear.com.

* According to penalty stats on ESPN.com as of Monday morning, October 11, 2010.

CONTACT:
Sarah Smedley, Ketchum Sports & Entertainment, 646-935-4163; [email protected]
Glenn Greenberg, Liberty Mutual Insurance, 617-574-5874; [email protected]