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Sun Belt Gets Manning Rep With Middle Tennessee’s Dasher
Saturday, August 7, 2010
 Middle Tennessee star Dwight Dasher (official bio) is the first Sun Belt Conference player to be named to this year's Manning Award Preseason Watch List. Dasher had an outstanding year last year but made a major splash on the national scene with his transcendent performance in the New Orleans Bowl - he led the Blue Raiders to a 42-32 win over Southern Miss with 162 passing yards (two passing touchdowns) and 201 rushing yards (and two more TDs). The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, is releasing the Watch List one player per day through its official Facebook and Twitter pages. The award has honored the top quarterback in the nation for the past six years.
Allstate Sugar Bowl on Facebook
Allstate Sugar Bowl on Twitter
Dasher was named the preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year after becoming only the fourth player in NCAA history to pass for 2,500 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season last year. The 5-10 senior set a Middle Tennessee record for total offense with 3,943 yards while accounting for 36 touchdowns. He threw for 2,789 yards, the most in school history, while setting another school record with 23 touchdown passes. On the ground, Dasher added another record, rushing for 1,154 yards and 13 scores, most ever by an MTSU QB. He rushed for 60 or more yards 10 times, while throwing for 200� yards eight times. Dasher set career highs in completions, attempts, and passing yards against Maryland by going 27-of-44 for 324 yards and two touchdowns. His sensational performance in the New Orleans Bowl earned him MVP honors and his 201 rushing yards went down as the most yards by a quarterback in NCAA bowl history. The Blue Raiders welcome Minnesota on Sept. 2 for their 2010 season opener.
Dasher YouTube highlights
July 20 Tennessean story on Dasher earning Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year
Sporting News preview of Middle Tennessee State
Manning Award Watch List (Final)
| Name | Class | Cmp-Att | Pct. | Yards | TDs | INTs | Wins | Matt Barkley, USC
| So. | 211-352 | .599 | 2,735 | 15 | 14 | 9 | Diondre Borel, Utah St.
| Sr. | 214-366 | .585 | 2,885 | 17 | 4 | 4 | Ryan Colburn , Fresno St.
| Sr. | 181-298 | .607 | 2,459 | 19 | 11 | 8 | Zach Collaros, Cincinnati
| Jr. | 93-124 | .750 | 1,434 | 10 | 2 | 4 | Kirk Cousins, Michigan St.
| Jr. | 198-328 | .604 | 2,680 | 19 | 9 | 5 | Andy Dalton, TCU
| Sr. | 199-323 | .616 | 2,756 | 23 | 8 | 12 | Dwight Dasher, Middle Tenn.
| Sr. | 219-399 | .549 | 2,789 | 23 | 14 | 10 | Ricky Dobbs, Navy
| Sr. | 56-105 | .533 | 1,031 | 6 | 3 | 9 | Nathan Enderle, Idaho
| Sr. | 192-312 | .615 | 2,906 | 22 | 9 | 8 | Nick Foles, Arizona
| Jr. | 260-409 | .636 | 2,486 | 19 | 9 | 6 | Blaine Gabbert, Missouri
| Jr. | 262-445 | .589 | 3,593 | 24 | 9 | 8 | Robert Griffin, III, Baylor
| So. | 45-69 | .652 | 481 | 4 | 0 | 2 | Jacory Harris, Miami
| Jr. | 242-406 | .596 | 3,352 | 24 | 17 | 9 | Jordan Jefferson, LSU
| Jr. | 182-296 | .615 | 2,166 | 17 | 7 | 8 | Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M
| Sr. | 296-497 | .596 | 3,579 | 30 | 8 | 6 | Landry Jones, Oklahoma
| So. | 261-449 | .581 | 3,198 | 26 | 14 | 7 | Colin Kaepernick , Nevada
| Sr. | 166-282 | .589 | 2,052 | 20 | 6 | 8 | Case Keenum, Houston
| Sr. | 492-700 | .703 | 5,671 | 44 | 15 | 10 | G.J. Kinne, Tulsa
| Jr. | 210-345 | .609 | 2,732 | 22 | 10 | 5 | Jake Locker , Washington
| Sr. | 230-395 | .582 | 2,800 | 21 | 11 | 5 | Andrew Luck, Stanford
| So. | 162-288 | .563 | 2,575 | 13 | 4 | 8 | Ryan Mallett , Arkansas
| Jr. | 225-403 | .558 | 3,627 | 30 | 7 | 8 | Greg McElroy, Alabama
| Sr. | 198-325 | .609 | 2,508 | 17 | 4 | 14 | Kellen Moore, Boise St.
| Jr. | 277-431 | .643 | 3,536 | 39 | 3 | 14 | Joshua Nesbitt, Ga. Tech
| Sr. | 75-162 | .463 | 1,701 | 10 | 5 | 11 | Kyle Padron, SMU
| So. | 135-201 | .672 | 1,922 | 10 | 4 | 5 | Christian Ponder, Florida St.
| Sr. | 227-330 | .688 | 2,717 | 14 | 7 | 4 | Terrelle Pryor, Ohio St.
| Jr. | 167-295 | .566 | 2,094 | 18 | 11 | 11 | | Kevin Riley, California | Sr. | 209-382 | .547 | 2,850 | 18 | 8 | 8 | Ricky Stanzi , Iowa
| Sr. | 171-304 | .563 | 2,417 | 17 | 15 | 11 | Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech
| Sr. | 136-243 | .560 | 2,311 | 13 | 5 | 10 | Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin
| Sr. | 211-328 | .643 | 2,705 | 16 | 11 | 10 | Russell Wilson, N.C. State
| Jr. | 224-378 | .593 | 3,027 | 31 | 11 | 5 |
2010-11 Manning Award Watch List Photo Gallery
The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in 2004 to 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. Ten finalists will be selected in late-November and the winner will be announced after the bowls in January and will be honored at a ceremony in New Orleans.
The preseason Watch List recognizes some of the top quarterbacks in the nation based on previous collegiate performance, however, every quarterback in the nation remains eligible for the honor. Additional quarterbacks may be added to the Watch List after the start of the season. The list of 10 finalists will be released on Monday, Nov. 29. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, Jan. 19.
The Manning Award will be recognizing its seventh 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. Last year's winner was Texas signal-caller Colt McCoy, the winningest quarterback in college football history. McCoy was picked by the Cleveland Browns in the 2010 NFL Draft. -AllstateSugarBowl.org-
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