The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced its 10 finalists for this year’s award on Wednesday. The winner will be announced after the bowls in January and will be honored at a ceremony in New Orleans. 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 takes the candidates’ bowl performances into consideration in its balloting.
2011 Manning Award Finalists
| Name |
Cl. |
School |
C-A |
Pct. |
Yards |
TDs |
INTs |
Wins |
| Matt Barkley |
Jr. |
USC |
308-446 |
69.1 |
3528 |
39 |
7 |
10 |
| Kirk Cousins |
Sr. |
Michigan St. |
218-339 |
64.3 |
2735 |
21 |
6 |
10 |
| Robert Griffin, III |
Jr. |
Baylor |
252-357 |
72.6 |
3678 |
34 |
5 |
8 |
| Landry Jones |
Jr. |
Oklahoma |
312-487 |
64.1 |
4052 |
28 |
12 |
9 |
| Case Keenum |
Sr. |
Houston |
342-467 |
73.2 |
4726 |
43 |
3 |
12 |
| Andrew Luck |
Jr. |
Stanford |
261-373 |
70.0 |
3170 |
35 |
9 |
11 |
| Kellen Moore |
Sr. |
Boise State |
272-372 |
73.1 |
3194 |
38 |
7 |
10 |
| Brandon Weeden |
Sr. |
Oklahoma State |
355-486 |
73.0 |
4111 |
34 |
12 |
10 |
| Russell Wilson |
Sr. |
Wisconsin |
189-260 |
72.7 |
2692 |
28 |
3 |
10 |
| Tyler Wilson |
Jr. |
Arkansas |
257-407 |
63.1 |
3422 |
22 |
6 |
10 |
While the statistics for the group are exemplary, one stat stands out above the rest – they have a combined winning percentage of .862 with an overall record of 100-16. The finalists average over 3,500 passing yards and 32 touchdowns while averaging just seven interceptions each. Eight of the players come from 10-win programs with the other two in range of winning 10 games by the end of the bowl season.
“It’s been a tremendous year for quarterbacks once again, but when it came down to voting for our top 10, we realized how many great quarterbacks there have been this season,” Archie Manning said. “We have a strong group of 10 finalists, but there is another sizable group of players that didn’t make the list that were very deserving as well. It’s going to be fun to watch our finalists play some of their biggest games of the season to see who will really stand out and win this honor.”
The winner is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday, Jan. 18.
The Manning Award will be recognizing its eighth winner this year. USC’s Matt Leinart was the inaugural winner of the award in 2005, followed by Texas’ Vince Young in 2006. Both went on to be top 10 NFL draft picks. In 2007, LSU’s JaMarcus Russell earned the award and was the NFL’s No. 1 draft pick. Boston College’s Matt Ryan claimed the award in 2008 and was drafted No. 3, quickly becoming the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. In 2009, Florida star Tim Tebow earned the honor – he also went on to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. The 2010 winner was Texas signal-caller Colt McCoy, the winningest quarterback in college football history at the time, who was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the draft. Last year saw Auburn’s Cameron Newton earn the award, prior to being selected No. 1 overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.
-www.AllStateSugarBowl.org-
