NEW ORLEANS (September 23, 2024) – The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, has named eight quarterbacks as its "Stars of the Week." 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. After voting closes on Wednesday at 9 a.m. (Central), the top vote-getter will be announced as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week.

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, 538 different quarterbacks from 133 schools have been recognized. Sixty-six players were honored during the 2023 season.

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

Luke Altmyer, Illinois (21-of-27, 236 total yards, 4 TDs, QBR: 83.9)
Altmyer, who tallied his second four-touchdown game of the season, delivered his final TD of the night in overtime to lift the Fighting Illini to a 31-24 road victory over No. 22 Nebraska in Big Ten action as Illinois improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2011.

Alonza Barnett III, James Madison (22-of-34, 487 total yards, 7 TDs, QBR: 95.5)
Barnett, who passed for 388 yards and five touchdowns while running for 99 yards and two more scores, led the Dukes to the most points ever scored against North Carolina in a 70-50 road victory over the Tar Heels.

Garrett Greene, West Virginia (15-of-30, 382 total yards, 3 TDs, 2 INT, QBR: 78.8)
Greene delivered a pair of touchdown passes in the final 3:27, including the 15-yard game-winner with 26 seconds to go as the Mountaineers came from behind to shock Kansas, 32-28, in Big 12 action.

Blake Horvath, Navy (9-of-12, 403 total yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 99.8)
Horvath, who throws for 192 yards and two touchdowns and runs for 211 yards (17.6 yards per carry) and four more scores, tallies the third most yards of offense in school history as he leads Navy to a 56-44 AAC win over previously undefeated Memphis.

Graham Mertz, Florida (19-of-21, 225 total yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 95.1)
Mertz delivered three first-half touchdowns through the air and then added a third-quarter rushing touchdown as the Gators picked up an SEC road victory, 45-28, over Mississippi State.

John Mateer, Washington State (26-of-46, 501 total yards, 5 TDs, 2 INT, QBR: 78.3)
Mateer, who posted the most yards of total offense by an FBS player so far this season, led the Cougars to 22 fourth-quarter points, including delivering a pair of touchdown passes, to erase a 14-point deficit to force overtime where he scored what proved to be the winning two-point conversion in a wild 54-52 victory over San Jose State.

Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (25-of-41, 367 total yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 64.6)
Sanders scrambled to his left and threw a 43-yard pass to the end zone for the game-tying touchdown with 0:00 on the clock and the Buffaloes went on to defeat Baylor, 38-31, in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Evan Simon, Temple (17-of-27, 320 total yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 81.1)
Simon, who connected on a career-best five touchdown passes while also running for a score, led the Owls to 28 second-half points in a 45-29 home victory over Utah State.

While the Manning Award selected 29 quarterbacks for its preseason Watch List, additional quarterbacks are expected to be added to the Watch List later in the season. Finalists will be selected in early December and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.

In its first 20 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 (Jayden Daniels, Stetson Bennett, Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Mac Jones, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) leads the way with nine 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. LSU (Daniels, Burrow, and Russell) now leads the way with three honorees, while Alabama (Bryce Young and Jones), 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 Mannings 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.

15K at most stayed based on my estimation. I thought there were moments the small crowd was loud.

Every week this season, at least one publication has ranked WVU’s uniforms among the best. Personally, I don't care much about what the team wears, but I fully recognize how important it is from a marketing perspective and to recruits. It's important in those areas and we should at least acknowledge that.

--Football is a funny game sometimes and a week after West Virginia blew a 34-24 lead with 4:55 remaining, the Mountaineers rallied from down 11 with just 5:39 left. It was almost a mirror image of a week ago, with West Virginia opening things up and allowing the offense to throw the football and get quarterback Garrett Greene making plays with his legs while Kansas decided to go conservative with a chance to ice the clock and weren't able to do it. The Mountaineers get the football back and drive down the field score with 26 seconds left on a beautiful play design to Rodney Gallagher and then forced a turnover on a strip sack to preserve the win. Without the sake of being dramatic this win could very likely save the season for the Mountaineers from a mental perspective because dropping to 1-3 this early would have been a very difficult hole to climb out of with a trip to Oklahoma State next. Still, credit to this team for rallying and winning a game that not many thought they would at that point including myself. We'll see what this game means in the grand scheme of things for this year, but it's certainly worth celebrating tonight.

--Listen, it is what it is but this team is now 1-0 in the Big 12. That doesn't erase what has happened, but it matters especially with how wide open this league is going to be. I expect a lot of close games like this and you have to find ways to win them like this team did today.

--Now that doesn't erase the issues, as the Mountaineers were way too conservative at times in this game and it almost got them beat. The offense seemed stuck in neutral at times, but when Greene was allowed to open things up and just play football it functioned a lot better. The shifts/motions and everything else has a place, but this unit operates better to me when they're playing fast football and allowing Greene to do what he does best. West Virginia had 7 plays for 14 yards prior to the final two drives going 75-yards and 67-yards.

--Garrett Greene wasn't at his best at times in this one at 15-30 for 295 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, but he carried this team on his back in the final two drives and made play after play including some really good throws and some nice plays with his legs. He managed the clock well in those situations but used his legs to pick up some big plays to keep the offense moving. The Mountaineers just look like a different team in the two minute and Greene just looks so much more comfortable. He's a senior quarterback and this is one where despite it not being his best overall, that leadership and experience showed up when it mattered. That's the most he has thrown for in a game since 391 against Houston last year.

--West Virginia forced a pair of turnovers in this game after only having one through the first three and although neither resulted in points, the final one sealed the game. It's almost hard to believe that Tyrin Bradley has the last two interceptions that the defense has dating back to last season.

--West Virginia won this game with CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White combining for 12 carries for 53 yards. I definitely wouldn't have called that.

--Felt West Virginia did a better job against the pass at times in this one, although some of that was on Jalon Daniels just missing some opportunities. But the Jayhawks ran the ball with a lot of success in a lot of creative ways with 247 rushing yards but overall the defense tackled pretty well and made plays when it mattered. Those 247 rushing yards are the most that West Virginia has given up since Oklahoma State last season and the Jayhawks were at 5.3 per carry. But this effort is even more impressive with how many guys were injured at various times including Aubrey Burks. The Mountaineers had to use guys in different spots and made it work.

--The Mountaineers only had three penalties for 20 yards in this game. West Virginia was also 4-5 in the red zone but scored 29 points in those opportunities.

--Hudson Clement was excellent in this game. He was able to win in man coverage several times and finished with 7 catches for 150 yards, more than half of Greene's yards, but almost had another score. He just does the right things and has shown the ability to win in those contested situations at a higher clip than anybody else. Also tip of the cap to Rodney Gallagher who scored his first career touchdown on a really nice designed play for a 15-yard score. He continues to grow as a wide receiver.

--Overall, the offense was 7-13 on third down and a big reason was they were able to stay in manageable situations. Still Greene was 6-9 for 61-yards on third down and the Mountaineers also averaged over 10 yards on first downs.

--West Virginia was at 7 yards per play, while Kansas was at 6. I wouldn't have expected that.

--The West Virginia linebackers didn't have their best game in this one and Kansas will do that to you but Josiah Trotter is always around the ball. He had 11 tackles in this one. TJ Jackson also had another 1.5 sacks in this game and has been a force off the edge.

--Credit to Preston Fox. He played two snaps in this game and both were catching punts to ensure that the Mountaineers wouldn't have any miscues. But Gallagher also deserves some credit with a 16-yard return in this one showing his abilities back there.

--Props to the kickoff team. I've been really critical at times, but West Virginia booted the ball into the end zone at a high clip and when they didn't had great coverage with that team.

--West Virginia now gets a bye week and avoided disaster in this one while showing a lot of heart down the stretch run of this game. A lot of people might have given up late in this one, but this team didn't and that matters moving forward. It won't get any easier with a road trip next, but at least we can discuss the possibility now.

at what Brian Flores is doing at Minn.

He is covering up a relatively soft DB field with crazy simulated pressure and smoke and mirrors on the Dline so that they are putting tons of pressure on the QB and Oline with tricks and scheme rather than people.

He is sending 3-5 guys but freaking QB's out. The job he did on CJ yesterday was crazy good.

If he was willing to coach in college as a HC rather than a coordinator in NFL he would be my #1. He only makes 3 mil a year in Minn. He was in Pittsburgh with steelers before Miami. I would love to have him as HC.

I bet he would be a stud recruiter too!!


I love what he has done with the Vikings Defense.

How could it be that the Democratic Party I grew up with—the Blue Dog Democrats who believed in hard work, the middle class, family, and standing up against the war machine—has turned into this?

I declared my independence this year because I refuse to support a party that flies in a foreign leader to promote the production of artillery and the use of bombs.

Our country deserves better.

We want de-escalation through diplomacy, not a march toward World War III.

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President Trump Held a RoundTable Meeting in Indiana, Pennsylvania - 23SEP2024...


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1) milum
2) green
3) marichol
4) trotter
5) gallagher

Not scientific all just my opinion

and certainly the temperament has mellowed with the Kansas win.

But how would you describe the mood of The Blue Lot right now towards this season and the state of program? Not how you feel or your belief on what should happen. Just your assessment of a block of the most educated fans out there and where you think their heads are based on over 30 years of experience.

I have some thoughts but would like to hear yours first.

--West Virginia head coach Neal Brown said it was a good win over a quality, well-coached football team. West Virginia competed hard and did well enough to win the game. Special teams they have to improve on punt blocking and the last two punts of the game weren't good enough. They had one kickoff return they had numbers and didn't execute blocks. On special teams, they won the field position battle and had two punts inside the 10 and both were stops. They had a good punt return and scored a touchdown before half. Michael Hayes has been consistent all year field goal wise, but his kickoffs have been much better since the Pitt game. Rodney Gallagher has really worked on his punt return and he will do that when Preston Fox is done. The punt and kickoff coverage has been really good all year and they made some big time plays on kickoff. Taurus Simmons made an unbelievable play on kickoff running a double team into the returner. On defense they were scrambling on defense, but they have to do better with their rush defense. That's a really good running team and they can't give up that many yards. They have to play blocks better and use their hands more effectively and be better on end of possession downs. On defense, West Virginia really bounced back and finished strong. Five drives that ended the game, West Virginia got off the field on four of them and minimized their explosive pass plays. They did a much better job containing the quarterback by staying in their lanes. Tyrin Bradley will be rewarded by the Big 12 but Fatorma Mulbah played his best game and Sean Martin did as well. Anthony Wilson played well and Josiah Trotter continues to show up. On offense, the negatives were two turnovers and the first pick Brown felt it was pass interference but the other one they had an explosive pass play and were hit when they were throwing. They weren't bad in the run game but not up to their standards. It's a team run issue, it isn't the offensive line, tight ends, receivers. The two minute offense was great and Greene made a bunch of plays. Hudson Clement won against man coverage and played his best game since he's been here. Treylan Davis is playing really well.

--West Virginia will practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and coaches will be on the road Friday and Saturday and will practice Sunday.

--Hopeful they will have everybody back for the Oklahoma State game from injuries. Brown said other than the head stuff, he feels confident they will have everybody back.

--Jacolby Spells had his most extensive playing time of the year made some critical errors but did some good things fundamentally. TJ Crandall needs to recognize some personnel things but he played some quality snaps. They wanted to play Ayden Garnes at corner, but they had to play him inside at nickel a lot more. From a schematic standpoint they did a better job in the secondary. Where they got hit on some balls was underneath coverage at the linebacker level and they need to play better there. They executed their base coverages.

--Reverse happened right in front of me and when Tyrin Bradley let the ball get out it was over. You have to play for two possessions and you have to go into a two-minute mindset. They immediately scored and they said they're going to go for two. When you score they know immediately to get in the huddle and go for the next play. Brown knew they wanted to get into some spread stuff and he was going to complete passes or run around because Kansas was having issues with that. If they were going to play man they didn't have a lot of eyes on the quarterback. That play should have hit a lot earlier on the two-pointer, but they got it. They had three minutes and some change left there, with three time outs and four with the two minute timeout. You don't want to start using timeouts until 2:30 minutes. You use it because even worst case scenario you get it you should get the ball back if you can hold them. Brown said they sold out on the third and 4, they played zero coverage and blitzed. If they get it they still have time to adjust and they played that like it was the final play of the game. The message to the quarterback is we're playing for a touchdown and not going to force anything but they've got time. There was 31 seconds on the last play, they didn't have any timeouts with about 16-17 is about all the time you can run a field goal team out.

--Brown said they will get back this week and work Rodney Gallagher on defense, too. He will continue to play offense and has looked good with the ball in his hands.

--Brown said they have to see if some guys are ready secondary wise such as Key'on Washington and Israel Boyce. Then they have to get others like Trae'Von Dunbar and Diore Hubbard ready because Brown could see that they'd need them. Elijah Kinsler is a guy that they might need as the year goes on and Nate Gabriel is somebody who's role is going to increase. DayDay Farmer hasn't been able to get going but he needs to practice better as well but he is talented.

--As far as freshmen, Khalil Wilkins is super talented and has some wow plays that go both ways. There is going to have to be some patience there to get him fundamentally where he needs to be and he can really run and he's going to be a problem. They just have to get him honed in and they knew that it would be a learning period. At receiver, Brandon Rehmann is a guy that is going to be a really good player. Dom Collins is fast, but he has to learn how to play the position. Genross doesn't have a redshirt but it's been a big jump in level of play for him. He would be Kole Taylor's backup. The offensive lineman needs some time but Brown feels good from an athletic standpoint. The freshmen linebackers Curtis Jones is playing on special teams and Rickey Williams is going to be a high level player here. Keyshawn Robinson is playing on special teams. Zae Jennings just has to learn on defense. Makai Byerson is going to be a really good player, he is battling through injury but is going to redshirt and be a factor as he learns to play the defensive line.

--Two-point play is a good play and a look off a play they run a lot. They've hit that four or five times. He likes two point plays with multiple options and there was a run/pass option there. That was the thought process.'

--Brown said it's all in the eyes of the beholder whether he is aggressive or conservative as a play caller. He said they go for it a lot on fourth down, they are in the top ten in explosive pass plays. They are going to run the ball on third down to go for it on fourth and there are a lot of two down thought processes there. Brown said he hasn't stopped to think about his evolution as a play caller and each game is different with how you call it. There is a lot more to think through when you're the head coach calling a game because you know the strengths and weaknesses of the whole team. He is older and thinks about it from a whole team perspective.

--As a play caller you get a feel that the best opportunity was to spread them out and use plays where it's one/two run. You allow Greene to be where he is but there are some things that are really frustrating for Brown but he can't coach him to break tackles, etc. Brown doesn't outwardly get frustrated but when they decide to do some things you have to be O.K. with it.

--Greene does some things that if he would consistently do what he needs to do with his feet he would be at a higher completion percentage. When the play is in the pocket, he has to be fundamentally sound. Greene throws the deep ball extremely well but in rhythm throws he has to make sure his base stays the way it needs to be.

--Sometimes people want to really this is what high level quarterback play is but to Brown it's about scoring points and moving the ball. Greene does it very similar to watching Lamar Jackson and he's not comparing the two, but he does it different than the guy that's calling the game Tom Brady. But Jackson is still pretty special. As the game continues to evolve quarterbacks have more freedom and he is more comfortable with the uncomfortableness of backyard football.

--At lot more matchup zone to confuse the quarterbacks and there are better athletes rushing. It won't always be the best answer what they did Saturday, but it was for that game.

--If you spread it out all the time you make it hard for the defense and if you do that all the time you're going to allow the opponent to prepare for that. That isn't the first thing that opponents are thinking of it's the run game, quarterback run stuff and how they keep the ball in front of them on shot plays. There's some cat and mouse stuff they need to.

--It's happens every three or four years with a double bye and it's a positive for West Virginia. They have a tough stretch coming off the bye week and it will give them an opportunity to catch their breath.

--West Virginia won a bunch on Saturday in man coverage. It's hard when they got the back of your collar. That's the best they've done this year against man coverage against Kansas.

--Brown is hopeful that Burks will be back. It was an injury he took during a play and it didn't affect him until he was on the bench.

--Jordan Lesley will remain in the box.

--West Virginia felt that they were going to play Nate Gabriel in the spring but he has gotten fast tracked since Eddie Vesterinen got hurt. He gave them good push and allowed Hammond Russell to play in the boundary.

--Home field advantage matters in this league and coaching is at a high end and there isn't a huge talent disparity in the Big 12. And a lot of times it isn't who is going to make the big plays but who won't make the big negative and another thing is which team can run the ball.

West Virginia at Oklahoma State Oct. 5 will be played at 4 pm. on ESPN 2

LOL! Someone has to say it!

I guess I’m just in a positive mood today!

Curious…

Neal calling out when he said “yea I see that shit too” in his post game presser?

I turned the channel after we took the lead on that first drive. I thought we had it in the bag.