Conner Weigman Named to 2026 Manning Award Watch List
In this story:
Houston quarterback Conner Weigman joins the Manning Award preseason watch list on August 24 , which lists 40 of the top quarterbacks in the nation.
The award is sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl and honors the football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is also the only major quarterback award that considers postseason production.
Here's what that means for Houston.
More About the Award
Some of the previous winners of the award had more than 3,000 yards passing, including Baker Mayfield, Mac Jones and Marcus Mariota. Others had more than 1,000 yards rushing, including players like Cam Newton, Kyler Murray and Vince Young.
The Big Ten leads all conferences with 12 selections, followed by the SEC and Big 12 with eight apiece and then the ACC with six. This year, Weigman is one of the eight quarterbacks in the Big 12 to be selected.
The official Manning Award Midseason Watch List will be released on Thursday, November 5, per the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Additionally, the winner of the award will be announced after the College Football National Championship on January 27.
What this Means for Houston
Weigman is on multiple preseason award watch lists, such as the Maxwell Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Davey O'Brien Award. In addition, he had 2,705 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns and a 65.2 completion percentage last season. Weigman also had 700 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.
The Houston Cougars are ranked at the No. 23 spot in the AP preseason poll, which could put Weigman in a position to have not only a conference title game but also a playoff berth, which most quarterbacks on the list won't get.
Houston has a legitimate shot at winning the Big 12 Conference after going 10-3 and winning a bowl game against LSU 38-35 last year. If Houston wins the conference, it earns an automatic bid to the playoff.
If Houston isn't able to win the Big 12 but still gets a spot in the playoff, Weigman has a higher chance to win the award because the Cougars would play more games than the teams that are eliminated or didn't make the playoff.
With quarterbacks from powerhouse schools such as Arch Manning at Texas, Dante Moore at Oregon and Julian Sayin at Ohio State, the chances of Weigman winning the award are slim. Sayin threw for 3,610 yards, while Oklahoma State's quarterback Drew Mestemaker had 4,379 yards when he was with North Texas last year, which led the nation in passing yards.
However, if Houston reaches the playoffs, Weigman's name could be closer to the remaining quarterbacks and even higher depending on how the Cougars do. Houston starts the season on September 5 against Oregon State, a game that could be an early win to start the 2026 season strong.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Micah Clay is a staff writer for the Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a freshman at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Administration. He also works for The Cougar organization. You can find Clay on his Instagram(@mcjosh_btw_podcast)