Garrett Nussmeier named 2024 Manning Award Finalists

BATON ROUGE – LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has been named as one of 10 finalists for the Manning Award, the Allstate Sugar Bowl announced on Thursday.

The Manning Award, named in honor of the football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli, is the only quarterback award that takes into account bowl game performances in the balloting.

Past LSU winners of the Manning Award include Jayden Daniels last year, Joe Burrow in 2019 and JaMarcus Russell in 2006.

Nussmeier, a junior from Lake Charles, completed his first season as LSU’s starter in 2024, leading the Tigers to an 8-4 overall mark with wins over Ole Miss and South Carolina. He ranks among the Top 10 players nationally in passing yards per game (No. 6 at 311.6), completions (No. 4 with 313) and total offense (No. 8 at 307.8).

Nussmeier ranks No. 2 in the SEC and No. 12 nationally in passing touchdowns with 26.

Nussmeier put his name in the LSU record books this year as his 3,735 passing yards rank No. 3 in school history, while his 312 completions stand behind only Burrow, who completed 402 passes in 15 games in 2019.

Nussmeier topped the 300-yard mark seven times in 2024 and he had two games of 400 passing yards (409 vs. South Alabama, 405 vs. Texas A&M). He threw at least one TD pass in 11 games with a career-best six coming in the win over Nicholls.

He’s joined on the list of finalists by Carson Beck (Georgia), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), Quinn Ewers (Texas), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon), John Mateer (Washington State), Kyle McCord (Syracuse), Kurtis Rourke (Indiana), Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) and Cam Ward (Miami).

*LSU press release

Sugar Bowl Release & Finalists

NEW ORLEANS (December 5) – The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced 10 finalists for this year’s award on Thursday. The winner will be announced after the College Football Playoff National Championship in January. 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 the candidates’ bowl performances into consideration in its balloting.

Manning Award Finalists 2024

Name, Class, School	Cmp-Att	Pct.	Yards	TD	INT	QBR	Rushing
Carson Beck, Sr., Georgia	283-435	65.1	3,429	28	12	81.6	1 TD
Jaxson Dart, Sr., Ole Miss	249-363	68.6	3,875	25	6	84.7	454 yds, 3 TDs
Quinn Ewers, Jr., Texas	206-306	67.3	2,307	24	7	71.4	1 TD
Dillon Gabriel, Sr., Oregon	275-374	73.5	3,275	24	6	85	175 yds, 7 TDs
John Mateer, So., Washington State	224-347	64.6	3,139	29	7	71.1	826 yds, 15 TDs
Kyle McCord, Sr., Syracuse	367-558	65.8	4,326	29	12	77.1	3 TDs
Garrett Nussmeier, Jr., LSU	313-491	63.7	3,739	26	11	79	3 TDs
Kurtis Rourke, Sr., Indiana	202-387	70.4	2,827	27	4	85.7	2 TDs
Shedeur Sanders, Sr., Colorado	337-454	74.2	3,926	35	8	78.1	4 TDs
Cam Ward, Sr., Miami	293-435	67.4	4,123	36	7	88	196 yds, 4 TDs

“It’s been another fun year of college football,” said Archie Manning. “We’ve seen some great quarterback performances at all levels, and the fact we had 36 different players get votes to be Manning Award finalists shows the depth at the position around the country. This year, we get to follow many of them through the newly expanded College Football Playoff, so there’s a lot of football yet to be played. No matter what happens, I’m sure we’ll again have an outstanding winner of the Manning Award following all of the postseason games.”

Statistically, the group of finalists excels in nearly every category as they have combined for a total of 283 touchdowns with nearly 35,000 passing yards – and they get it done with their legs as well, as they’ve combined for 43 rushing touchdowns. The group has thrown for more than three and a half times as many touchdown passes as interceptions.

The list is senior dominated with seven and also includes two juniors, and a sophomore. The SEC leads the way with four honorees, while the Big Ten and the ACC have two and the Big 12 and the Pac-12 each have one.

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.

In addition to the Manning Award’s yearly honor, each week during the regular season, eight quarterbacks are recognized as Manning Quarterbacks of the Week. Seventy-four quarterbacks were honored during the 2024 season and 570 different quarterbacks from 135 schools have been recognized since 2011.

*Sugar Bowl release