Pitt's Heintschel leads Manning Award Eight Stars of the Week

Pitt quarterback led the group with seven touchdown passes in a win over Miami (OH) NEW ORLEANS (September 8, 2026) – The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, has named eight quarterbacks as its 'Stars of the Week after the first full week of action. College football fans can follow the Manning Award on social media (@ManningAward). 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, 611 different quarterbacks from 138 schools have been recognized. This week's eight Manning Award Stars of the Week are: Cutter Boley, Arizona State (21-of-27, 387 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT): Boley set multiple career highs with six touchdown passes and 387 passing yards in Arizona State's 70-7 win over Morgan State. Boley's six touchdown passes were the most by a Sun Devil quarterback since Andrew Walter threw for six in 2004. Trinidad Chambliss, Mississippi (21-of-36, 396 total yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT): Chambliss accounted for 396 yards and four touchdowns to lead Ole Miss to a 41-38 win over No. 24 Louisville. Chambliss completed 21-of-36 passes for 336 yards and three scores, while rushing for 60 yards and an additional score. Mason Heintschel, Pittsburgh (31-of-41, 453 yards, 7 TDs, 0 INT): Heintschel threw seven touchdown passes, tying the school record, as Pittsburgh rolled to a 59-14 win against Miami (Ohio). Heintschel equaled the school record set by Pete Gonzalez against Rutgers on Oct. 25, 1997. In the win, Heintschel completed 31 of 41 passes for 453 yards. Gio Lopez, Wake Forest (21-of-32, 389 total yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT): Lopez threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-16 season-opening win over Akron. Lopez completed 21-of-32 passes for 350 yards and added 39 yards on the ground in the Demon Deacons' dominating win over the Zips. Jayden Maiava, USC (23-of-25, 349 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT): In his second start of the season, Maiava finished the game going 23-of-25 for 349 yards and 3 TDs in a 39-0 win over Fresno State. Maiava's 92.0% completion percentage was the highest single-game completion percentage by a USC quarterback since at least 1995 (minimum 25 attempts). Darian Mensah, Miami (27-of-30, 401 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INT): Mensah threw five touchdown passes in his Miami debut as the Hurricanes opened the season with a 45-6 victory over at Stanford. Mensah completed 27 of 30 passes for a career-high 401 passing yards with five touchdowns. Dante Moore, Oregon (28-of-37, 378 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT): Moore threw for 378 yards and three scores as No. 2 Oregon battled back to defeat Boise State 34-27. Moore connected on a 62-yard scoring strike with 7:51 left in the game to break a 27-27 tie and propel the Ducks to a season-opening win. Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State (22-of-34, 413 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT): Taylor picked up his first career win as a starter by accounting for five touchdowns in a 62-13 win over Louisiana-Monroe. Taylor completed 22-of-34 passes for 354 yards and four scores, while adding 59 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground. Taylor threw for two touchdowns and ran for another during a 21-point first quarter. The Manning Award selected 40 quarterbacks for its Watch List in the preseason and will add additional quarterbacks on October 23. Finalists will be selected in early December, and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship. In its first 22 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 16 different schools and five 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) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (Cam Ward, Deshaun Watson twice, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston) have each had five 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.