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).
