Allstate Sugar Bowl Announces Manning Award Watch List Additions
Northern Illinois Quarterback Jordan Lynch Added to List to Watch for Top Quarterback Honor
NEW ORLEANS – The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced 10 additions to its 2012 Watch List on Wednesday. The winner will be announced after the bowls in January and will be honored at a banquet in New Orleans. From the MAC, Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch was added to this presitgious list leading the Huskies to a 6-1 overall record, including 3-0 in conference play.
Lynch has started all seven games and totaled 1,487 yards passing on 109-of 178 passing (61.2%) with 11 touchdowns for a quarterback rating of 148.4. Lynch has also rushed for 918 yards and scored another 11 touchdowns on the ground.
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.
After announcing 25 quarterbacks to watch during the preseason, the Manning Award opted to increase its focus players based on the many outstanding performances during the first half of the year. While these players have been added to the Watch List, every quarterback in the nation remains eligible to win the honor.
The additions to the Watch List come from eight different conferences with the SEC and Pac-12 each adding two players. The ACC, Big Ten, Conference USA, MAC, Sun Belt and WAC are all represented as well. The newcomers include three juniors, three sophomores, two seniors and two freshmen.
Ten finalists will be determined by a selected panel of national media covering college football, as well as each of the Mannings. That list will be released on Wednesday, Nov. 28. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, Jan. 9.
The Manning Award will be recognizing its ninth 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. Auburn’s Cameron Newton earned the award in 2011, prior to being selected No. 1 overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. This past season’s honoree was Robert Griffin, III, from Baylor, who was also a top NFL draft pick (No. 2 overall by the Washington Redskins).