Oklahoma senior Baker Mayfield’s performance vs. UTEP earns Manning Award Quarterback of the Week

Baker Mayfield, a senior from the University of Oklahoma, has been selected as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week. He earns the win over seven other Manning Award Stars of the Week in the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Facebook contest.

Mayfield completed a school-record 16 straight passes to open the game and tallied his third career half with 300-plus yards (he only played in the first half) as the Sooners cruised to a 56-7 win over UTEP. He ended the half 19-of-20 for 329 yards and three touchdowns. His first 14 completions went to 10 different receivers.

This marks Mayfield’s 11th time being named a Manning Award Star of the Week and it is his third win in the contest. The No. 7-ranked Sooners will travel to play at No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday for their second-ever game in Columbus.

Mayfield’s top competitors this week were Zach Abey of Navy and Ole Miss’ Shea Patterson. Through the air, Abey completed just 3-of-10 passes for 110 yards and one touchdown, but was very impressive on the ground as he set the American Athletic Conference record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 235 on 32 carries, including two touchdowns, in a 42-19 road win over FAU. Patterson completed 28-of-35 passes for career-highs of 429 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair of 70-plus yard scores, as he led the Rebels to a 47-27 victory over South Alabama.
Facebook Voting

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. The 10 finalists for the honor will be announced on Thursday, November 30 and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Manning Award

In its first 13 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 11 different schools and from four different conferences. The Southeastern Conference (Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (Deshaun Watson twice, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston) lead the way with four Manning Award wins each, while Texas is the only school with two different winners (Colt McCoy and Vince Young).

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.

In addition to the Manning Award’s yearly honor, each week during the regular season, eight quarterbacks are recognized as Manning Quarterbacks of the Week. Sixty-one players from 59 different schools were honored during the 2016 season.