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Manning Match-Up Week 13 – November 26-28

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

 

This is the last edition of featured Manning Match-Ups as 10 finalists will be announced on Monday, November 30th.  The Manning Award winner will be selected from those 10 finalists upon completion of the bowl season on January 14, 2010.

Eight games this week feature Manning Award Watch Listers facing each other, but the selection for this week's Manning Match-Up is Nevada at No. 6 Boise State (11/27, 9 p.m. CT, ESPN2). The Wolf Pack is led by junior quarterback Colin Kaepernick, while the Broncos boast sophomore Kellen Moore.

This crucial Western Athletic Conference game will decide the league's championship. The Wolf Pack currently lead the WAC at 7-0 (8-3 overall), while Boise State is right behind them with a 6-0 conference mark (11-0 overall). Boise is looking to go undefeated and possibly earn a bid to its second BCS bid in program history, however, a loss would likely knock the Broncos out of contention. Nevada, meanwhile, has won eight straight games by an average margin of victory of 29.0 points per game.

Last week, Nevada became the first team in NCAA history with three 1,000-yard rushers. Kaepernick, a splendid dual-threat quarterback, is one of the 1,000-yard rushers with 132 carries for 1,129 yards and 16 scores. Through the air, he has completed 139-of-231 passes for 1,734 yards with 16 touchdowns and just five interceptions.

Through 10 games this season, Moore leads the nation in passing efficiency at 172.49. He has also thrown the most touchdown passes of any quarterback in the country with 33, while also tossing just three interceptions. He has the chance to register the top touchdown-to-interception ratio in FBS history this year. For the season, he has completed 218-of-329 passes for 2,791 yards.

 

Other Week 13 Manning Match-Ups

November 26, 2009 (Thursday)
No. 3 Texas (Colt McCoy) at Texas A&M (Jerrod Johnson), 7 p.m. CT, ESPN

 November 27, 2009 (Friday)
Illinois (Juice Williams) at No. 5 Cincinnati (Tony Pike), 11 a.m. CT, ABC
Toledo (Aaron Opelt) at Bowling Green (Tyler Sheehan), 1 p.m. CT
No. 2 Alabama (Greg McElroy) at Auburn (Chris Todd), 2:30 p.m. CT, ABC

November 28, 2009 (Saturday)
No. 24 North Carolina (T.J. Yates) at N.C. State (Russell Wilson), 11 a.m., ESPN2
Wake Forest (Riley Skinner) at Duke (Thaddeus Lewis), 11 a.m. CT, ESPN-GP
Missouri (Blaine Gabbert) vs. Kansas (Todd Reesing), 2:30 p.m., ABC

Manning Award Stars of the Week

From the players currently on the Watch List for the Manning Award, here are some of the standout stars from week 12:

Levi Brown, Troy (27-of-36, 477 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)
Brown sets school record for passing yards as Troy clinches share of fourth straight Sun Belt Championship in win over Florida Atlantic.

Max Hall, BYU (33-of-45, 377 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INTs)
Senior sets school record for wins with his 30th as Cougars top Air Force, 38-21.

Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan (25-of-28, 344, 4 TDs, 0 INT)
Senior adds rushing TD as he becomes the MAC's all-time leading passer (topping Byron Leftwich) in 35-3 win over Ball State.

Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon (26-of-47, 284 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)
Junior adds three rushing touchdowns as he ties game in final seconds of regulation and wins it with a TD run in second overtime.

Colt McCoy, Texas (32-of-41, 396 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT)
Sets NCAA record for wins while helping Longhorns clinch Big 12 South with win over Kansas.

Manning Award Players to Watch

While the final additions have been made to the Manning Award Watch List, all quarterbacks remain eligible to win the award. Here's a look at 12th-week numbers from quarterbacks who are not on the Watch List:

B.J. Daniels, South Florida (20-of-34, 304 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT)
Redshirt freshman adds 141 rushing yards and two TDs as Bulls move to 7-3 with 34-22 win over Louisville.

Joey Elliott, Purdue (21-of-29, 205 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT)
Purdue closes season with win over state rival as Elliott throws for career-high four TDs.

Nick Foles, Arizona (30-of-46, 314 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT)
Another excellent effort from Foles, but it's not enough as Oregon escapes in double overtime.

Mike Kafka, Northwestern (26-of-40, 326 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT)
Second straight 300-yard game for Kafka lifts Northwestern to third straight victory.

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 takes into consideration the candidates' bowl performances.

While the preseason Watch List included 38 quarterbacks, 10 more signal-callers were added at midseason and every quarterback in the nation remains eligible for the honor. 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 Monday, Nov. 30. The winner will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 14.

The first five winners of the Manning Award reads like a Who's Who list at the quarterback position. 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. Last year's winner was Florida's Tim Tebow, who is bidding to become the first repeat winner this season.

-www.AllstateSugarBowl.org-