Fans can now vote for Bowden as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After a record-breaking performance in Kentucky’s 45-13 win over Louisville on Saturday, junior Lynn Bowden Jr. has earned one of the eight Manning Award Stars of the Week, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl College.
The other quarterbacks are Sam Ehlinger (Texas), Justin Fields (Ohio State), Bryce Perkins (Virginia), Peyton Ramsey (Indiana), Zach Smith (Tulsa), Zac Thomas (Appalachian State) and Kyle Trask (Florida).
Football fans can now go to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Facebook page to vote for what they think was the best performance from this past weekend. When voting closes on Thursday at noon ET, the top vote-getter will be announced as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week.
Here are the highlights of Bowden’s stellar performance vs. the Cardinals:
· Rushed 22 times for a career-high 284 yards and career-high four touchdowns – breaking or tying six records in the process — in Kentucky’s 45-13 win over Louisville
· 284 yards broke the Southeastern Conference record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game
· Set Governor’s Cup records for most rushing yards and most rushing touchdowns and was given the Howard Schnellenberger Award as the game’s Most Valuable Player
· Tied the school records for most touchdowns in a game and most rushing touchdowns in a game
· Averaged 12.9 yards per rushing attempt, third-best in SEC history (min. 20 attempts), highlighted by a career-long 60-yard touchdown run
· Broke the school record for most rushing yards in a season by a quarterback and became the ninth 1,000-yard rusher in school history
· 284 yards in one game is the third-most in the nation this season
· Led UK’s offense that generated a school-record 517 rushing yards and set an SEC record with 12.9 yards per rushing attempt
· The erstwhile wide receiver has directed UK to a 5-2 record since moving to quarterback seven games ago
· Earned CFPA National Performer of the Week
Bowden, a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award for the nation’s most versatile player, currently leads the SEC and ranks ninth nationally in all-purpose yardage, averaging 153.0 yards per game (note that all-purpose yardage does not include Bowden’s passing yardage as a quarterback). He is one of only three players in the top nine nationally with rushing, receiving, punt return and kickoff return yards.
The Youngstown, Ohio native, who earned First-Team Midseason All-America honors as an all-purpose player by The Associated Press and ESPN, is averaging 8.2 yards per rushing attempt, and is in contention to break the school record. That mark leads the SEC and ranks second nationally.
He also is the only player in the nation leading his team in both rushing (1,235) and pass receiving (348). He ranks 13th on UK’s career receptions list with 114 and is 18th on the career receiving yards list with 1,303 yards.
This is Bowden’s second Manning Award Star of the Week this season. He went on to earn the Manning Quarterback of the Week on Oct. 14, after leading UK to a 24-20 win over Arkansas in his first collegiate start at quarterback.
