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.

Manning Award Website

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

Connor Bazelak, Missouri (29-of-34, 406 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 92.4)

Bazelak, a freshman who picks up his first career win, sets career-highs in nearly every category while connecting on three second-half touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 5:18 to go as the Tigers upset No. 17 LSU, 45-41, in SEC action.

Stetson Bennett, Georgia (16-of-27, 238 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 92.8)

Bennett also adds a rushing touchdown as he leads the Bulldogs to 27 unanswered points in the second half of a 44-21 SEC win over No. 14 Tennessee.

Mac Jones, Alabama (28-of-32, 417 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 96.5)

Jones tallies his second straight 400-yard game and directs the Crimson Tide offense to 21 fourth-quarter points as it pulls away from Ole Miss, 63-48, in an SEC road game.

Phil Jurkovec, Boston College (19-of-35, 358 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 81.3)

Jurkovec, who also rushes for a touchdown, tosses a 25-yard TD pass in overtime to put the Eagles on top in an eventual 31-30 win over Pittsburgh.

Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (29-of-41, 292 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 81.6)

Lawrence, who has thrown 355 straight passes without an interception, also adds a rushing touchdown as the Tigers pull away for a 42-17 ACC victory over No. 7 Miami, their 25th consecutive ACC victory.

Kellen Mond, Texas A&M (25-of-35, 338 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 94.7)

Mond connects on a 51-yard touchdown with 4:30 to go to knot the game at 38 and then directs the final drive to set up a game-winning field goal in a 41-38 SEC victory over No. 4 Florida, the Aggies’ first win over a top five team at home since 2002.

Asher O’Hara, Middle Tennessee (23-of-42, 268 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INT, QBR: 45.8)

O’Hara, who sets a school QB record with his fifth career 100-yard rushing day (106), including two rushing TDs, connects on a 12-yard TD pass with 1:20 to go to lift the Blue Raiders to their first win of the year, 31-28, over FIU.

Gunnar Watson, Troy (33-of-46, 338 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 64.2)

Watson tallies career-highs in nearly every category, including five passes of 20 yards or more, as he leads the Trojans to a 37-17 Sun Belt win over Texas State.

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.