Redshirt freshman one of eight quarterbacks up for QB of the Week
NEW ORLEANS – After a 13-for-17 performance and accounting for four touchdowns in a 34-30 win over Texas State last Saturday, Louisiana quarterback Zeon Chriss was one of eight players named as the Manning Award’s “Stars of the Week,” announced on Monday by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
College football fans can follow the Manning Award on social media (@ManningAward) to vote for what they think was the best performance from this past weekend. When voting closes on Thursday at 9 a.m. (Central), the top vote-getter will be announced as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week.
VOTE HERE!
https://allstatesugarbowl.org/poll.aspx?poll=18
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 the candidates’ bowl performances in its balloting. Since the Manning Award started recognizing Stars of the Week in 2011, 506 different quarterbacks from 133 schools have been recognized. Sixty players from 58 different schools were honored during the 2022 season while 35 quarterbacks have been recognized so far this year.
This week’s eight Manning Award Stars of the Week are:
Carson Beck, Georgia (28-of-35, 389 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 95.6)
Beck, who completes his first 13 passes and tallies career-bests in nearly every category, only needs three quarters of action to lead the Bulldogs to their 22nd straight SEC regular-season victory as they rolled to a 51-13 blowout of previously-undefeated and 20th-ranked Kentucky.
Zeon Chriss, Louisiana (13-of-17, 205 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 81.2)
Chriss, who adds 67 rushing yards, tosses a five-yard touchdown pass with 5:54 to go and then runs for an eight-yard TD with 2:21 to go to lead the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 34-30 comeback victory over Texas State in Sun Belt action.
Jayden Daniels, LSU (15-of-21, 259 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 97.1)
Daniels, who adds 130 rushing yards, scores on a 35-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth-quarter, then connects on the game-winning 29-yard TD pass with 2:58 to go as the Tigers come-from-behind to knock off No. 21 Missouri in a key SEC road game.
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma (23-of-38, 285 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, QBR: 92.8)
Gabriel, who runs for a career-best 113 yards and a touchdown, drove the Sooners 75 yards in five plays with 1:17 to go, capping the run with a three-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds to go to lead the Sooners to a thrilling 34-30 victory over archrival and third-ranked Texas in a key Big 12 showdown.
Frank Harris, UTSA (25-of-33, 338 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 88.6)
Harris, who adds a rushing touchdown and surpasses the 10,000-yard milestone for passing yards, makes his return to the lineup after missing nearly a month with an injury and leads the Roadrunners to a 49-34 road victory in their first American Athletic contest.
Drake Maye, North Carolina (33-of-47, 442 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 85.4)
Maye, who also rushes for 55 yards and a touchdown, registers his third career 400-yard game (and ninth 300-yard game) as he helps the Tar Heels remain undefeated with 644 yards of offense in a 40-7 ACC victory over Syracuse.
Zion Webb, Jacksonville State (11-of-21, 186 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 91.2)
Webb, who also runs for 101 yards (on just 10 carries) and a touchdown, comes off the bench to spark the Gamecocks’ to 38 unanswered points as they erase a 23-7 halftime deficit to defeat Middle Tennessee, 45-30, on the road to remain undefeated in CUSA play.
Jacob Zeno, UAB (19-of-25, 353 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 82.0)
Zeno, who tallies his career-high for TD passes, is on-target on long-scoring plays as he connects on touchdowns of 75, 61, 58 and 49 yards to lead the Blazers to their most yards since 2018 in a 56-35 AAC win over USF.
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. Ten finalists will be selected and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.
In its first 19 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 14 different schools and from four different conferences. The Southeastern Conference (Stetson Bennett, Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Mac Jones, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) leads the way with eight Manning Award honorees, while the Big 12 Conference (Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Vince Young, Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III) has had five winners. The Atlantic Coast Conference (Deshaun Watson twice, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston) has had four Manning Award winners. Alabama (Bryce Young and Jones), LSU (Burrow and Russell), Oklahoma (Murray and Mayfield), and Texas (McCoy and Vince Young) have each produced a pair of Manning Award winners.
All the Manning Award winners follow in the footsteps of the Manning’s 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.
