Eight quarterbacks named Manning Award Stars of the Week 10-16-23

Fans Can Now Vote to Select Overall Manning Quarterback of the Week

NEW ORLEANS (October 16, 2023) – The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, has named eight quarterbacks as its “Stars of the Week.” College football fans can follow the Manning Award on social media (@ManningAward) to vote for what they think was the best performance from this past weekend. When voting closes on Thursday at 9 a.m. (Central), the top vote-getter will be announced as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week.

VOTE HERE!
https://allstatesugarbowl.org/poll.aspx?poll=19

The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in 2004 to honor the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that includes the candidates’ bowl performances in its balloting. Since the Manning Award started recognizing Stars of the Week in 2011, 508 different quarterbacks from 133 schools have been recognized. Sixty players from 58 different schools were honored during the 2022 season while 42 quarterbacks have been recognized so far this year.

This week’s eight Manning Award Stars of the Week are:

Ashton Daniels, Stanford (27-of-45, 396 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 67.1)
Daniels, who also runs for 39 yards, leads eight straight scoring drives in the second half as the Cardinal manufacture the largest comeback in program history, erasing a 29-0 deficit to shock Colorado, 46-43, in a thrilling double-overtime Pac-12 road game.

Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, Colorado State (32-of-54, 359 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 32.8)
Fowler-Nicolosi, who leads all freshman quarterbacks in the nation in yards, connects on three touchdown passes in the final 4:01, including a 33-yard last-second pass that was batted before being caught in the end zone on the final play, as the Rams erase a 30-10 deficit to upend Boise State, 31-30, in MW action.

Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina (19-of-28, 373 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 78.9)
McCall, who records his career-high for passing yards, drives the Chanticleers 77 yards in the final 4:38 to set up the game-winning field goal as Coastal Carolina upends Appalachian State 27-24 in a key Sun Belt road game.

Graham Mertz, Florida (30-of-48, 423 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 79.4)
Mertz, who throws two touchdown passes in the final 4:40, converts a 4th-and-10 pass with 2:43 to go and then delivers the go-ahead 21-yard touchdown strike with 47 seconds remaining as the Gators top South Carolina, 41-39, in an SEC road game.

Diego Pavia, New Mexico State (20-of-36, 286 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 92.3)
Pavia, who tallies his second career 200-yard passing/100-yard rushing game (he ran for 115 yards and a touchdown), is the first Aggie to account for 400 yards of total offense since 2017 as he leads them to a 27-13 CUSA win over Sam Houston State helping them reach four wins faster than any season since 1992.

Michael Penix Jr., Washington (22-of-37, 302 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 89.2)
Penix, who records his sixth straight 300-yard game, caps an outstanding day by throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass with 1:38 to go to push the Huskies ahead of No. 8 Oregon in a thrilling 36-33 Pac-12 victory.

Daniel Richardson, FAU (31-of-38, 382 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 94.4)
Richardson, who sets career-bests for passing yards and completion percentage, helps the Owls break open a tight game at halftime with 35 unanswered points in a 56-14 rout of USF in a key AAC road game.

Donovan Smith, Houston (21-of-27, 253 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 84.3)
Smith, who also runs for a touchdown, completes his final 16 passes, including a 49-yard Hail Mary on the final play, to lift the Cougars to a thrilling 41-39 Big 12 win over West Virginia.

While the Manning Award selected 30 quarterbacks for its preseason Watch List, additional quarterbacks are expected to be added to the Watch List later in the season. Ten finalists will be selected and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.

In its first 19 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 14 different schools and from four different conferences. The Southeastern Conference (Stetson Bennett, Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Mac Jones, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) leads the way with eight Manning Award honorees, while the Big 12 Conference (Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Vince Young, Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III) has had five winners. The Atlantic Coast Conference (Deshaun Watson twice, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston) has had four Manning Award winners. Alabama (Bryce Young and Jones), LSU (Burrow and Russell), Oklahoma (Murray and Mayfield), and Texas (McCoy and Vince Young) have each produced a pair of Manning Award winners.

All the Manning Award winners follow in the footsteps of the Mannings themselves. In college, Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning combined for over 25,000 passing yards and 201 touchdowns while playing in 10 bowl games and earning four bowl MVP awards. Archie was the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, while both Peyton and Eli were selected No. 1 overall.