PROVO, Utah – The Manning Award named BYU quarterback Zach Wilson one of its Stars of the Week on Monday for his outstanding performance in BYU's win over nationally ranked Boise State.
Wilson was one of eight quarterbacks recognized this 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.
A Heisman Trophy and All-America candidate, Wilson threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns while adding another score with his legs on Friday to lead the Cougars to their first road win over Boise State in six outings. BYU, ranked No. 8 this week with an 8-0 record, handed then-No. 21 Boise State a 51-17 setback, which was the Broncos' largest margin of defeat overall since 2005 and worst home loss dating back to 1996.
This season Wilson leads the nation in total points responsible for with 184 and is tied for No. 1 nationally in passing touchdowns (22) as well as rushing scores (8) among signal callers. Among his many top ratings, Wilson also ranks No. 2 in passing yards (2,512), No. 4 in completion percentage (.751) and No. 5 in pass efficiency (201.6). When considering efficiency ratings of players who have played in more than one game, Wilson is in elite company forming an efficiency top three with fellow Heisman hopefuls Justin Fields of Ohio State (222.4) and Mac Jones of Alabama (210.3).
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.
In addition to Wilson, this week’s eight Manning Award Stars of the Week are Shane Buechele, SMU; D’Eriq King, Miami; Michael Penix Jr., Indiana; Kedon Slovis, USC; Kyle Trask, Florida; Brady White, Memphis; and Malik Willis, Liberty.