Eight quarterbacks named Manning Award Stars of the Week after opening weekend

Fans Vote on Facebook to Select Overall Manning Quarterback 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:

Stetson Bennett, Georgia (25-of-31, 368 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 97.3)

Bennett is nearly flawless while also adding a rushing touchdown as the defending national champion Bulldogs roll to a 49-3 victory over No. 11 Oregon in Atlanta.

Todd Centeio, James Madison (21-of-33, 287 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 84.7)

Centeio matches the school record for passing touchdowns while also rushing for a career-high 110 yards as he leads the Dukes to 548 yards of offense in their FBS debut – a 44-7 victory over Middle Tennessee.

Drake Maye, North Carolina (24-of-36, 352 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 94.3)

Maye, who also rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown, led North Carolina to 28 unanswered points midway through the game, then tossed a key fourth-quarter TD as the Tar Heels held on for a wild 63-61 victory over Appalachian State.

Tanner Mordecai, SMU (23-of-32, 432 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 95.8)

Mordecai throws for a career-high 432 yards, his ninth career game with 300-plus yards, as he directs the Mustangs to a 48-10 road victory over North Texas.

Michael Penix, Jr., Washington (26-of-39, 345 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 83.9)

Penix tallies his sixth career 300-yard game in his Washington debut as he leads the Huskies to scores on their first five drives on route to a 45-20 victory over Kent State.

Anthony Richardson, Florida (17-of-24, 168 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 94.8)

Richardson also rushes 11 times for 106 yards and three touchdowns, including a two-yard dash with 1:25 remaining, as well as a critical two-point conversion pass earlier in the fourth quarter, to lead the Gators to a 29-26 upset of No. 7 Utah.

Will Rogers, Mississippi State (38-of-49, 450 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 82.4)

Rogers leads Mississippi State to 542 yards of offense as he tallies his sixth career 400-yard game in a 49-23 lightning-delayed home victory over Memphis.

Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State (28-of-41, 406 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 88.1)

Sanders, who also runs for 57 yards and two scores, registers his career-high for passing yards and touchdowns as he leads the Cowboys to a 58-44 home victory over Central Michigan.

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 18 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 (Young, Joe Burrow, Jones, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) leads the way with seven 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 (Young and Jones) joins LSU (Burrow and Russell), 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.