Eight quarterbacks named Manning Award Stars of the Week

Fans Vote on Facebook to Select Overall Manning Player of the Week

NEW ORLEANS – The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, has named eight quarterbacks as its “Stars of the Week.” College football fans can now go to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Facebook page to vote for what they think was the best performance from this past weekend. When voting closes on Thursday at 11 a.m. (Central), the top vote-getter will be announced as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week.

VOTE HERE

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, 424 different quarterbacks from 129 schools have been recognized. Seventy-three players from 66 different schools were honored during the 2020 season.

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

Jake Bentley, South Alabama (24-of-31, 389 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, QBR: 94.7)

Bentley, who has the first 300-yard game for a Jaguar since 2018, also rushes for two touchdowns as he sets a school-record for TDs in a game while leading the Jaguars to a 41-14 Sun Belt victory over Georgia Southern.

Bo Nix, Auburn (21-of-26, 292 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 97.3)

Nix, who also runs for 42 yards and a touchdown, helps the Tigers hold off a comeback attempt, connecting with a 71-yard TD late in the fourth quarter, to lead Auburn to a 38-23 SEC road win over No. 17 Arkansas.

Aidan O’Connell, Purdue (30-of-40, 375 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 98.2)

O’Connell, who adds a rushing touchdown, notches his fourth game with 370-plus passing yards as he directs a Boilermaker offense which shocks No. 2 Iowa, 24-7, in a Big Ten road contest – the win is Purdue’s first road win over a team ranked No. 2 or higher since 1974.

Cameron Rising, Utah (21-of-33, 247 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INT, QBR: 91.4)

Rising, who also runs for 59 yards and a touchdown, completes 13-of-15 second-half passes for 140 yards and two TDs as the Utes erase a 14-point deficit in a 35-21 Pac-12 victory over No. 18 Arizona State.

Grant Wells, Marshall (24-of-32, 323 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 89.5)

Wells, who also rushes for three touchdowns, sets a school record by completing 18 straight passes as he leads the Thundering Herd to a 49-21 C-USA road win over North Texas.

Caleb Williams, Oklahoma (18-of-23, 295 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 96.5)

Williams, who becomes the first Sooner true freshman to start since 1990, also rushes for 66 yards with a 41-yard touchdown dash to lead Oklahoma to a 52-31 Big 12 win over TCU.

Bryce Young, Alabama (20-of-28, 348 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 96.3)

Young, who has thrown for multiple touchdowns in every game this year, tallies his fourth 300-yard game while completing all six of his third-down passes for 159 yards (and 3 TDs) as the Crimson Tide rolls to a 49-9 SEC road win over Mississippi State.

Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky (37-of-54, 397 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 74.4)

Zappe, who has thrown for three or more touchdowns in every game this year, notches his sixth 350-yard game of the year as he leads the Hilltoppers to a 43-20 C-USA road win over Old Dominion.

While the Manning Award selected 32 quarterbacks for its preseason Watch List, additional quarterbacks will be added to the Watch List on October 21. Ten finalists will be selected and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.

In its first 17 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 13 different schools and from four different conferences. The Southeastern Conference (Mac Jones, Joe Burrow, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) leads the way with six 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. LSU (Burrow and Russell), Oklahoma (Murray and Mayfield) and Texas (McCoy and Young) have each had two different 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.