University of Memphis quarterback Marcus Stokes has landed on the Manning Award Watch List after being one of 15 signal callers added Friday by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
The Manning Award was established by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in 2004 to recognize the college football achievements of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It remains the only quarterback award that counts bowl performances in the voting. Since the award began naming Stars of the Week in 2011, more than 600 quarterbacks from 138 schools have earned recognition.
Stokes already had a Manning Award moment this season. He was named a Star of the Week on Oct. 5 after Memphis’ 59-8 win over Charlotte, and he has kept building from there in his first year with the Tigers.
The redshirt junior has helped Memphis reach the sixth-best total offense in the country at 508.3 yards per game, produce the most first downs in FBS with 200, and post the eighth-highest team passing efficiency in college football at 174.1. That production has carried Memphis to bowl eligibility after last night’s overtime win over East Carolina.
Stokes entered the week 11th in passing yards and inside the top 10 in passing touchdowns, but now sits second in the FBS with 2,161 passing yards and 21 touchdowns. In both categories, he trails Oregon State’s Braden Atkinson. He also checks in among the top 20 nationally in passing yards per completion, passing efficiency, points responsible for and total offense.
Against East Carolina, Stokes added another big line to his season: four games with at least 300 passing yards, multiple touchdown passes in seven of Memphis’ eight games, and his first two rushing touchdowns of the 2026 campaign. One of those came on the game-winning run in overtime.
Memphis, now 6-2 and 3-1 in the American, returns to its usual Saturday routine when it hosts Army on Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. The Golden Knights are at Tulsa before making the trip to Memphis.
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Boise State, Oregon State, New Mexico, North Dakota State and Air Force all stand to gain from James Madison falling out of the mix, but the path is still far from settled. The final College Football Playoff selection committee rankings are set for Nov. 3, and until then Memphis is watching a race that suddenly looks a little more open, and a lot more consequential, than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]