NEW ORLEANS (September 24, 2018) – 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 honor of 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.
This week’s eight Manning Award Stars of the Week are:
K.J. Costello, Stanford (19-of-26, 327 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 96.0)
Costello, who has his second 300-yard game of the year, tosses a 23-yard touchdown in overtime to cap a wild comeback from a 24-7 deficit in a 38-31 Pac-12 road win over No. 20 Oregon.
Nathan Elliott, North Carolina (22-of-31, 313 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 85.9)
Elliott tallies a career-high in passing yards as he directs the Tar Heels to their first win of the year, 38-35, over Pittsburgh in ACC action.
Will Grier, West Virginia (25-of-35, 356 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INT, QBR: 92.5)
Grier registers his fifth five-touchdown game as he leads the Mountaineers to a 35-6 Big 12 win over Kansas State.
Mitchell Guadagni, Toledo (15-of-24, 211 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 91.4)
Guadagni also rushes for career-highs of 131 yards and two touchdowns as he leads the Rockets to a 63-44 victory over Nevada.
Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State (21-of-24, 304 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 98.8)
Haskins has his third 300-yard game of the year and matches his career-best for TD passes in one half of action as the Buckeyes roll over Tulane, 49-6.
Blake LaRussa, Old Dominion (30-of-49, 495 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 84.9)
LaRussa, a former walk-on, comes off the bench and sets career-highs in nearly every category as he leads the 29-point underdog Monarchs to a shocking 49-35 upset of No. 13 Virginia Tech.
McKenzie Milton, UCF (21-of-32, 306 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 92.9)
Milton also rushes for 81 yards and a career-best three touchdowns as he keys the Knights to their 16th straight victory, 56-36 over Florida Atlantic.
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama (22-of-30, 387 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 96.2)
Tagovailoa also adds a rushing touchdown as he leads the Crimson Tide to a 45-23 SEC victory over No. 22 Texas A&M.
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 29 and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.
In its first 14 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 12 different schools and from four different conferences. The Big 12 Conference (Baker Mayfield, Vince Young, Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III) joins 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) with four Manning Award winners each, while Texas is the only school with two different winners (McCoy and 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-three players from 60 different schools were honored during the 2017 season.
-www.AllstateSugarBowl.org-
