Stetson Bennett wins Manning Award as nation's top quarterback
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was named the winner of the 2022 Manning Award, presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, on Monday. The award recognizes the top quarterback in college football and is the only award to take into consideration performances in the postseason where Bennett helped guide Georgia to a second straight National Championship title.
Bennett, who was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy alongside a trio of other quarterbacks, became the only signal caller in Georgia program history to throw for over 4,000 yards in a single season, completing 310 of his 454 passes (68.2%) for 4,127 yards and 27 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. Bennett also added 10 scores on the ground.
“We started the Manning Award 19 years ago as a way to recognize the country’s top quarterback for the full season, including the postseason,” Archie Manning said in a statement. “I’m not sure we’ve ever had an honoree who showcased his ability and proved his worth all the way through the postseason like Stetson did this year. We’re thrilled to recognize him as this year’s Manning Award winner.”
“If anyone exemplifies what we had in mind when we helped start the Manning Award, it’s Stetson Bennett,” Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley added. “Even though he led Georgia to a perfect regular season, there were still some people who doubted his status as an elite quarterback. After what Stetson did in the postseason, there shouldn’t be any doubters left. The Allstate Sugar Bowl will be proud to present the Manning Award trophy to Stetson Bennett, a two-time national champion and the Most Valuable Player of the last five postseason games in which he played.”
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Included in the evaluation of Bennett, and likely playing a big part, were his final two outings in a Georgia uniform. In the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against Ohio State, the Blackshear, Ga. native threw for a career-high 398 yards to help guide the Bulldogs to a 42-41 win over the Buckeyes. That included a strong fourth quarter that led the comeback from 14 points down entering the final 15 minutes. Then, the one-up that, Bennett played one of the best games of his career in the 2023 National Championship Game versus TCU, throwing for 304 yards and four touchdowns while adding two scores on the ground. His six touchdowns accounted for tied Joe Burrow’s record for most in a National Championship Game. Bennett earned Offensive MVP in each of the two Playoff performances, giving him four in total after the 2021 season as well.
Other impressive performances this season for Bennett included his MVP performance in the SEC Championship Game win over LSU as he threw for four touchdowns, a four-score day at Mississippi State and four straight games to start the season with 250+ passing yards plus a rushing touchdown. In total, Bennett threw for multiple touchdowns in 10 games including eight of the last nine and for 300+ yards in six outings as well.
A sixth-year senior, Bennett is the fourth straight winner of the Manning Award to come from the SEC joining Joe Burrow, Mac Jones and Bryce Young. He’s the first Georgia player to win the award since it was introduced in 2004.
