CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Watson named as a Manning Award Star of the Week


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NEW ORLEANS - 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 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.

This week's eight Manning Award Stars of the Week are:

Austin Appleby, Purdue (15-of-20, 202 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, QBR: 97.4) Appleby, making his first career start, adds 76 rushing yards and two touchdowns, as the Boilermakers pick up a key Big Ten road victory over Illinois, 38-27.

Mike Bercovici, Arizona State (27-of-45, 510 yards, 5 TDS, 0 INT, QBR: 91.5) Making just his second career start, Bercovici throws two touchdown passes in the final 2:43, including a 46-yard game-winning toss on the final play of the game as the Sun Devils shock No. 16 USC, 38-34, for a key Pac-12 road victory.

Shane Carden, East Carolina (31-of-41, 410 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 87.6) In ECU's debut in the American Athletic Conference, Carden puts together a near-flawless effort while also becoming the school's all-time passing yardage leader in a 45-24 win over SMU.

Darell Garretson, Utah State (19-of-25, 321 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 87.3) Garretson, who also adds a rushing touchdown, leads the Aggies to a 35-20 road victory over No. 18 and previously undefeated BYU.

Connor Halliday, Washington State (49-of-70, 734 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 81.4) Halliday, who opens the day with a 90-yard touchdown pass, continues to fire away, setting the college football all-division record for passing yards, but it's not enough as the Cougars can't hold off California in a wild 60-59 contest.

Nick Marshall, Auburn (14-of-22, 207 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 96.4) Marshall posts his second career game with 200 passing and 100 rushing yards as he tallies 119 yards and two touchdowns on the ground as the Tigers roll to a 41-7 victory over 15th-ranked LSU.

Dak Prescott, Mississippi State (19-of-25, 259 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 82.8) Prescott uses his arm and legs (77 rushing yards and three touchdowns) to lead the Bulldogs to a critical 48-31 victory over sixth-ranked Texas A&M.

Deshaun WatsonDeshaun Watson
Fr. Quarterback
#4 6-3, 204
Gainesville, GA

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, Clemson (17-of-29, 267 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 93.4) Watson continues his amazing debut season, adding 62 rushing yards and two more scores in a 41-0 win over North Carolina State.

While the Manning Award selected 32 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 Wednesday, Nov. 26 and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship game on Monday, Jan. 12. The Manning Award will be recognizing its 11th 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, at the time, the winningest quarterback in college football history, 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. The 2012 honoree was Robert Griffin, III, from Baylor, who was also a top NFL draft pick (No. 2 overall by the Washington Redskins). The 2013 and 2014 winners were also the first freshmen to collect the honor - in 2013, it was Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel, and he was followed by last year's winner, Jameis Winston from Florida State. Both freshmen also collected the Heisman Trophy after their sensational debut seasons.

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