NEW ORLEANS (Oct. 12, 2026) – BYU's Bear Bachmeier and South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers turned in impressive performances to earn Manning Award Stars of the Week honors following Week 6 of the college football season.

Bachmeier accounted for 438 yards of total offense, throwing for 329 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 109 yards to lead No. 8 BYU to a 24-10 victory over Iowa State.

Sellers completed 23 of 35 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns without an interception while adding a rushing touchdown to account for five total scores in South Carolina's 38-19 road victory over Florida. The win marked the Gamecocks' first victory at Florida since 2014.

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 candidates' bowl performances in its balloting.

Since the Manning Award began recognizing Stars of the Week in 2011, 632 different quarterbacks from 138 schools have been recognized.

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

Braden Atkinson, Oregon State (29-of-38, 409 yards, 5 TDs) – Atkinson completed 29 of 38 passes for 409 yards and five touchdowns. It was his sixth straight 300-yard game, leaving him one short of Sean Mannion's school-record seven in a row in 2013, and his second straight 400-yard game, something no Beaver had done since Mannion that same season. Atkinson's 21 touchdown passes tied Sean Canfield (2009) and DJ Uiagalelei (2023) for sixth on Oregon State's single-season list, and he went over 2,000 yards for the year in the first quarter.

Bear Bachmeier, BYU (22-of-30, 438 total yards, 2 TDs) – Bachmeier totaled 329 passing yards, completing 22 of 30 attempts, while throwing two touchdowns. The Murrieta, Calif. native also recorded 109 rushing yards to become the first BYU quarterback since Taysom Hill to record 300-plus passing yards and 100-plus rushing yards in the same game. It marked Bachmeier's fourth career game with more than 300 passing yards. His 329 passing yards were also the most the Cyclones have allowed in a game this season. Late in the fourth quarter, Bachmeier recorded a career-long 39-yard rush.

Blake Baker, Louisiana Tech (32-of-42, 319 yards, 4 total TDs) – Baker led the offensive effort, completing 32 of 42 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns while adding a rushing score. Louisiana Tech erased a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 46 seconds remaining to defeat in-state rival UL-Lafayette, 32-31, Saturday night at Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium, securing the Bulldogs' first-ever Sun Belt Conference football victory in program history.

Jackson Brousseau, California (29-of-43, 321 yards, 1 TD) – Brousseau delivered a standout performance in his first start for the Golden Bears, completing 29 of 43 passes for 321 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions in a 25-20 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday, Oct. 10. Filling in for injured starter Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Brousseau helped Cal rally for a win with a touchdown drive in the final minute.

Jeremy Hecklinski, Iowa (14-of-19, 202 yards, 3 TDs) – Hecklinski delivered an impressive performance in his first collegiate start, completing 14 of 19 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions to lead the No. 20 Hawkeyes to a 41-24 victory over Washington on Friday, Oct. 9. The junior completed his final 12 passes of the game, helping Iowa build a 27-3 halftime lead and bounce back from a loss to Ohio State. Hecklinski stepped into the starting role with Hank Brown sidelined by a shoulder injury as Iowa improved to 5-1
overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play.

Tayven Jackson, North Texas (24-of-31, 349 yards, 5 TDs) – Jackson turned in a career-best performance, throwing five touchdown passes to lead the Mean Green to a 50-10 victory over Charlotte. Jackson completed 24 of 31 passes for 349 yards without an interception, setting career highs in touchdown passes for the second consecutive game. He completed his first 14 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns as North Texas built a 40-10 halftime advantage.

Gio Lopez, Wake Forest (26-of-33, 303 yards, 4 total TDs) – Lopez turned in a standout performance Saturday, Oct. 10, throwing for 303 yards and three touchdowns while adding a rushing score to lead the Demon Deacons to a 38-14 victory over NC State. Lopez completed 26 of 33 passes without an interception, accounting for all three of Wake Forest's touchdowns in a dominant third quarter as the Demon Deacons erased a 14-10 halftime deficit.

LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina (23-of-35, 279 yards, 5 total TDs) – Sellers accounted for five touchdowns Saturday, Oct. 10, leading the Gamecocks to a 38-19 upset of No. 16 Florida in Gainesville. Sellers completed 23 of 35 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns without an interception while adding a rushing score. He connected with four different receivers for touchdown passes as South Carolina snapped an eight-game SEC losing streak and earned its first win in Gainesville since 2014.

The Manning Award selected 40 quarterbacks for its Watch List in the preseason and will add additional quarterbacks on October 23. Finalists will be selected in early December, and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.

In its first 22 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 16 different schools and five different conferences.
The Southeastern Conference (Jayden Daniels, Stetson Bennett, Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Mac Jones, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) leads the way with nine Manning Award honorees, while the Big 12 Conference (Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Vince Young, Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (Cam Ward, Deshaun Watson twice, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston) have each had five winners.

All the Manning Award winners follow in the footsteps of the Mannings themselves. In college, Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning combined for more than 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.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 114 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 92-year history. The 93rd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will serve as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, will be played on January 15, 2027. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests more than $1 million into the community through hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting more than $2.6 billion into the local economy over the last decade. For more information, visit www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.