Eight quarterbacks named Manning Award Stars 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, 464 different quarterbacks from 129 schools have been recognized. Sixty-seven players from 66 different schools were honored during the 2021 season.

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

Carter Bradley, South Alabama (26-of-41, 354 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 90.7)
Bradley, who tallies the fourth-most passing yards in a game at USA, tosses a pair of first quarter touchdowns as the Jaguars jump out early and cruise to a 38-24 road victory over Central Michigan.

Malik Cunningham, Louisville (14-of-29, 201 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 72.3)
Cunningham also runs for 121 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown dash to put the Cardinals on top in the third quarter of a 20-14 come-from-behind victory over UCF on the road.

Jalon Daniels, Kansas (18-of-29, 219 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 95.7)
Daniels, who also rushes for 85 yards, connects on a 4-yard touchdown pass in the first overtime which proves to be all the Jayhawks need as they get a pick-six to close the game, giving them a 55-42 road win over Big 12 rival West Virginia.

Frank Harris, UTSA (32-of-45, 359 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 91.0)
Harris throws for a career-high 359 yards and notches his fifth career 300-yard game while connecting on a 7-yard touchdown pass in overtime to lift the Roadrunners to a 41-38 overtime victory over Army on the road.

Sam Hartman, Wake Forest (18-of-27, 300 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 72.1)
Hartman, who returns to action after recovering from a serious off-season health issue, tallies his 14th career 300-yard game as he directs the Demon Deacons to a 45-25 road victory over Vanderbilt.

Will Rogers, Mississippi State (39-of-49, 313 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 71.3)
Rogers, who is a perfect 13-of-13 for 123 yards in the third quarter, notches a school career-record 15th 300-yard game as he leads the Bulldogs to a 39-17 road victory over Arizona.

Kyle Vantrease, Georgia Southern (37-of-56, 409 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, QBR: 80.4)
Vantrease, who posts a career-high in passing yards, steps up when it matters most on the final drive, converting a fourth-and-2 pass, connecting on a 27-yard strike and then running for the go-ahead touchdown with 36 seconds to go to shock three-touchdown favorite Nebraska, 45-42.

Caleb Williams, USC (20-of-27, 341 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 96.3)
Williams has an exceptional Pac-12 debut, completing 13 his first 15 passes, including three first-quarter touchdown passes as the Trojans take down Stanford, 41-28, on the road.

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 (Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Mac 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 (Bryce Young and Jones) joins LSU (Burrow and Russell), Oklahoma (Murray and Mayfield) and Texas (McCoy and Vince 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.