LAFAYETTE – After setting career-highs in passing yards and completions in leading Louisiana to a 34-24 victory last week at Coastal Carolina, quarterback Ben Wooldridge picked up a pair of honors on Monday from both the Davey O’Brien and Manning Award.
The senior passed for 373 yards on 27 of 36 aim for three touchdowns while adding a 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter as Louisiana (6-1, 3-0 SBC) won its fourth straight game and became bowl eligible for a school-record seventh consecutive year.
Wooldridge tossed TD passes to Lance LeGendre, Bill Davis and Terrance Carter in the win over the Chanticleers and eclipsed his previous high (370) set in 2022 at Southern Miss. He helped seal the game with 2:34 remaining after eluding the Chanticleer pass rush and connecting with Carter on a 59-yard scoring pass on third-and-13.
The Pleasanton, Calif., native joined Army West Point’s Bryson Daily, Billy Edwards Jr. of Maryland, UCLA’s Ethan Garbers, Kevin Jennings of SMU, BYU’s Jake Retzlaff, Sawyer Robertson of Baylor and Miami’s Cam Ward as the Davey O’Brien Foundation’s Great 8 quarterbacks of Week 8. He was officially added to the Davey O’Brien Award’s Midseason Watch List.
Wooldridge earned notice for the second time this season and third time in his career by the Allstate Sugar Bowl as one of the eight Manning Award Stars of the Week. He joined Daily (Army), Edwards Jr. (Maryland), Garbers (UCLA), Retzlaff (BYU), Robertson (Baylor), Ward (Miami) and Cole Snyder (Eastern Michigan) as the Manning Award Stars of the Week for Week 8.
Following those selections, fans will have the opportunity to vote for the overall Manning Award Quarterback of the Week.
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ABOUT THE DAVEY O’BRIEN AWARD
The Davey O’Brien Foundation was created in 1977, and the National Quarterback Award, the oldest and most prestigious college quarterback award, was first issued in 1981. Over its time, the Davey O’Brien Foundation has given away more than $1.3 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life.
In 1938, O’Brien, who wore No. 8 as a star quarterback for TCU, became the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award in the same year. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.
ABOUT THE MANNING AWARD
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, 553 different quarterbacks from 134 schools have been recognized. Sixty-six players were honored during the 2023 season and 39 quarterbacks have been recognized so far in 2024.
