Courtesy of Utah State
LOGAN, Utah – Following his performance against New Mexico this past weekend, Utah State graduate junior quarterback Levi Williams was named one of eight Manning Award Stars of the Week, it was announced on Monday.
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. When voting closes on Wednesday at 8 a.m. (MT), the top vote-getter will be announced as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week.
This week’s eight Manning Award Stars of the Week are: Brennan Armstrong, North Carolina State (22-of-31, 334 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 82.6); Hudson Card, Purdue (21-of-34, 360 total yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 79.6); Jayden Daniels, LSU (16-of-24, 355 total yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 98.3); Noah Fifita, Arizona (30-of-41, 527 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 98.2); Garrett Greene, West Virginia (16-of-25, 372 total yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 81.4); Joe Milton, Tennessee (22-of-33, 394 total yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 91.3); Bo Nix, Oregon (33-of-40, 398 total yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, QBR: 97.4); and Levi Williams, Utah State (16-of-27, 351 total yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT, QBR: 80.8).
Williams, a 6-foot-5, 230-pounder from Canyon Lake, Texas (Smithson Valley HS/Wyoming), was making his first start in his two-year Utah State career, led the Aggies to a 44-41 double-overtime win at New Mexico to become bowl eligible. Against the Lobos, Williams accounted for 351 yards of offense and five touchdowns, including both of USU’s scores in overtime.
Williams posted his third-career 100-yard rushing game, including his first at Utah State, as he gained a season-high 153 yards on a career-high 25 carries and scored a season-high three touchdowns.
Overall, Williams is just the eighth quarterback in school history to rush for 100 yards as his 153 rushing yards are the second-most by a quarterback in program history. Furthermore, Williams’ 25 rushing attempts are a school record for a quarterback, while his three rushing touchdowns are tied for the most in school history by a quarterback.
Williams third rushing touchdown occurred in the second overtime on a broken play as he dropped the snap and then rushed 13 yards for the winning score. Williams also scored on a 6-yard run in the first overtime and added a 29-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Williams was also 16-of-27 passing for 198 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the game as both of his touchdown passes came in the first quarter from 13 and 57 yards.
His touchdowns responsible for (5) are tied for the most in the MW this season, while his rushing yards (153), rushing attempts (25) and rushing touchdowns (3) are the most by a MW quarterback this year.
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, 524 different quarterbacks from 133 schools have been recognized. Sixty players were honored during the 2022 season while 64 quarterbacks have been recognized this year.
