NDSU’s Trey Lance Named to Manning Award Watch List

NEW ORLEANS (NDSU Athletics) – North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance was named to the preseason watch list for the Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, on Thursday, July 30. The list includes 30 of the top college quarterbacks in the nation heading into the 2020 football season.

Lance, a sophomore from Marshall, Minn., was the 2019 Walter Payton Award and Jerry Rice Award winner as the FCS offensive player and freshman of the year, respectively. He led the FCS with a school-record 180.6 pass efficiency rating and set the NCAA all-divisions record for most passing attempts in a complete season without an interception (287). Lance passed for 28 touchdowns, rushed for 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns, and had a school-record 3,886 yards of total offense while leading the Bison to the first 16-0 season in college football since 1894.

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 includes the candidates’ bowl game performances in its balloting. The winner is selected by a voting panel of national media and the Mannings after the bowl games.

“It sure has been a unique offseason, but we’re still looking forward to the prospect of seeing a great group of quarterbacks compete this year,” Archie Manning said. “Our watch list is once again an exceptional group of candidates, but every year is a new year and we’ll be watching closely to add the best newcomers to the list after we get things rolling. I’d also like to thank the Allstate Sugar Bowl for sponsoring this award; it means a lot to the entire Manning family that they include our name in recognizing the best quarterbacks in the country.”

Inclusion on the watch list is not necessary for the quarterbacks to be selected for the honor. Additional quarterbacks may be added to the watch list during the season. Ten finalists will be selected prior to the postseason and the winner will be announced following the College Football Playoff national championship.

“The Sugar Bowl has considered it a great honor to sponsor the Manning Award for the past 16 years,” said Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley. “We all look forward to watching these young men perform during a season that’s likely to be like none other for many reasons. At the end, the committee will be ready and privileged to recognize one of them as the Manning Award winner.”

This year’s watch list includes players from all 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences. The AAC, Big 12 and Big Ten lead the way with four selections, while the ACC, C-USA, the Pac-12 and the SEC each have three selections. There are 13 seniors on the list while the junior class is represented by 11 quarterbacks and the sophomore class has six.

Five of last year’s Manning Award finalists are included on this year’s watch list: Justin Fields (Ohio State), Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), Tanner Morgan (Minnesota), Kyle Trask (Florida) and Brady White (Memphis).

2020 Manning Award Preseason Watch List (2019 stats)