Eight quarterbacks named Manning Award Stars of the Week

em>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.

Manning Award Website

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

K.J. Costello, Mississippi State (36-of-60, 623 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INT, QBR: 83.1)
Costello made his Mississippi State debut in amazing fashion, shattering the SEC record for passing yards as he leads the Bulldogs to a 44-34 SEC win over defending national champion LSU on the road.

Sam Ehlinger, Texas (27-of-40, 262 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 70.0)
Ehlinger, who also rushed for a touchdown, orchestrated one of the greatest comebacks in Texas history, throwing for two TDs and a two-point conversion in the final 2:40 of regulation and then tossing a 12-yard TD in overtime to lift the Longhorns to a 63-56 Big 12 victory over Texas Tech on the road.

Dillon Gabriel, UCF (32-of-47, 408 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 73.1)
Gabriel notches his second straight 400-yard/4-TD performance as he leads the Knights to a 51-28 AAC road win over East Carolina.

Bryson Lucero, UAB (18-of-28, 319 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 85.2)
Lucero, making his first career start, found nine different receivers for completions as he led the Blazers to a 42-10 road win over South Alabama, their fourth straight win over in-state opponents.

Skylar Thompson, Kansas State (18-of-25, 334 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, QBR: 83.2)
Thompson, who also rushes for three touchdowns, tallies a career-high in passing yards as he leads the Wildcats to 24 straight points to close a stunning 38-35 Big 12 upset of No. 3 Oklahoma on the road.

Kyle Trask, Florida (30-of-42, 416 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 93.4)
Trask records career-highs in nearly every category as he leads the Gators to 642 yards of offense, their most-ever against an SEC opponent, in a 51-35 victory over Ole Miss.

Malik Willis, Liberty (24-of-30, 285 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 76.6)
Willis, making his second career start, notches career-highs in all categories, including 85 rushing yards, while also throwing his first TD pass since 2017 as he leads the Flames to a 36-34 C-USA win over FIU.

Zach Wilson, BYU (23-of-28, 392 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 91.2)
Wilson, who also rushes for a pair of touchdowns, notches his career-high for passing yards as he led the Cougars to 664 yards of offense in a 48-7 victory over Troy.

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 16 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 12 different schools and from four different conferences. The Big 12 Conference (Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Vince Young, Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III) and the Southeastern Conference (Joe Burrow, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) lead the way with five Manning Award honorees each, while and the Atlantic Coast Conference (Deshaun Watson twice, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston) has had four Manning Award winners. LSU (Burrow and Russell) joins Oklahoma (Murray and Mayfield) and Texas (McCoy and Young) as the only schools with 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.