NEW ORLEANS (November 9, 2026) – Notre Dame's CJ Carr, Texas' Arch Manning and Alabama's Keelon Russell headlined a standout week of quarterback performances, each leading their respective teams to victories over ranked opponents to highlight this week's Manning Award Stars of the Week.

The trio delivered impressive performances on the national stage, helping their teams strengthen their College Football Playoff resumes while highlighting the talent and poise that define the nation's top quarterbacks.

The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in 2004 to honor the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning.

Since the Manning Award began recognizing Stars of the Week in 2011, 640 different quarterbacks from 139 schools have been recognized for their achievements.

CJ Carr, Notre Dame (29-of-40, 319 yards, 3 TD) – Carr delivered the biggest performance of his career, throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 4 Notre Dame to a 31-24 victory over previously unbeaten and top-ranked Miami. Carr completed 29-of-40 passes without an interception, directing an Irish offense that built a 21-point advantage before holding off a second-half Hurricanes rally.

Thomas Castellanos, Texas Tech (18-of-27, 362 passing yards, 464 total yards, 5 TD) – Castellanos threw for a career-high five touchdowns and accounted for 464 yards of total offense as No. 13 Texas Tech held on for a 53-48 victory over West Virginia. Castellanos completed 18-of-27 passes for 362 yards and rushed for 102 yards in the win.

Max Cutforth, Boise State (16-of-19, 317 passing yards, 5 total TD) – Cutforth delivered a career performance, throwing for 317 yards and four touchdowns while adding a rushing score to lead No. 20 Boise State to a 64-38 victory over Colorado State. Making his first start of the season, Cutforth completed 16-of-19 passes without an interception and accounted for five touchdowns in the win.

Roman Gagliano, Middle Tennessee (30-of-41, 312 yards, 4 TD) – Gagliano registered a career-best performance, throwing for 312 yards and four touchdowns to lead Middle Tennessee State to a thrilling 51-42 victory over Western Kentucky. The redshirt junior quarterback completed 30-of-41 passes, recording his second career 300-yard passing performance and tying his career high with four touchdown passes.

Baylor Hayes, Tulsa (26-of-33, 338 yards, 4 TD) – Hayes delivered a career performance, throwing for 338 yards and four touchdowns to lead Tulsa to a dominant 60-10 victory over Tulane. Hayes completed 26-of-33 passes without an interception, throwing three of his four touchdown passes to Oran Singleton Jr.

Arch Manning, Texas (28-of-38, 297 yards, 3 TD) – Manning produced one of his top performances of the season, throwing for 297 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 10 Texas to a 34-20 comeback victory over No. 19 Missouri. Manning completed 28-of-38 passes without an interception, helping the Longhorns overcome a seven-point second-half deficit and keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.

Steele Pizzella, Wake Forest (23-of-28, 495 total yards, 4 TD) – Making his first start, Pizzella threw for 432 yards and three touchdowns in just one half to lead No. 16 Wake Forest to a 77-0 victory over Merrimack. Filling in for the injured starter, the redshirt freshman completed 23-of-28 passes and added 63 rushing yards and a touchdown. His 495 yards of total offense were just 15 yards shy of the NCAA record for total yards in a single half.

Keelon Russell, Alabama (17-of-24, 206 yards, 3 TD) – Russell delivered a poised performance in one of college football's toughest road environments, throwing three touchdown passes to lead No. 5 Alabama to a 31-13 victory over No. 14 LSU. Russell completed 17-of-24 passes for 206 yards.

The Manning Award selected 40 quarterbacks for its Watch List in the preseason and added an additional 16 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.