University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn’s Joe Fagnano Added to The Manning Award Watch List
10/23/2025 12:28:00 PM | Football
STORRS, CT – The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced 22 additions to its 2025 Watch List on Thursday with UConn's Joe Fagnano (Williamsport, PA) added to this year's list.
Finalists for the honor will be determined by a select panel of national media covering college football, as well as each of the Mannings. That list will be released on Thursday, December 4 and the winner is scheduled to be announced following the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Fagnano was named a Manning Award "Star of the Week" for the second time this season after last week's performance against Boston College.
He is among the national leaders in almost every statistical category. He ranks 11th in passing yards (1,918), 13th in pass yards per game (274.0), 18th in passing efficiency (161.3), 18th in passing TDs (15), 20th in total offense (287.4), 22nd in completions per game (22.0), 25th in completion percentage (.681), and 27th in points responsible for (102).
More impressive is Fagnano has done it playing mistake free football. He has completed 154-of-226 passes this season without an interception. Fagnano has thrown for more yards (1,918) than any quarterback in the country without an interception. He has the most pass attempts (226) and passing yards (1918) without an interception among all quarterbacks in the NCAA. He is the only QB with 200 or more pass attempts without an interception this season.
Fagnano is in his third season with the Huskies after being granted a seventh-year of eligibility by the NCAA after last season. In his 19 career games at UConn, he has thrown for 3,722 yards, completed 63.0 percent of his passes (292-467) and thrown for 35 touchdown against five picks. His 35 TD throws ranks him fifth all-time in the UConn record book. He can match Ken Sweitzer (1978-81) for fourth at 37 touchdown throws. His 35 TDs is second to only Dan Orlovsky (84) during UConn's FBS era.
Between his years at Maine and at UConn, Fagnano has appeared in 46 total games and thrown for 9,396 yards. He has 754 completions and has thrown 81 touchdowns with just 17 interceptions.
The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of 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.
After announcing 27 quarterbacks to its preseason Watch List, the Manning Award opted to increase its spotlighted players based on the many strong performances during the first half of the year.
"We wanted to be sure and recognize those outstanding quarterbacks who had great first halves of the season," said Archie Manning. "At the same time, there is a lot of football left to be played and a long list of impact games, including the biggest ones of the year – the conference championships, the bowl games, and the College Football Playoff. Rest assured, every quarterback in the country remains in full consideration for the Manning Award."
The additions to the Watch List come from seven different conferences with the Big Ten and SEC leading the way with five quarterbacks each.
In its first 21 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 15 different schools and from four different conferences. The Southeastern Conference (Jayden Daniels, Stetson Bennett, Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Mac Jones, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) leads the way with nine Manning Award honorees, while the Big 12 Conference (Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Vince Young, Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (Cam Ward, Deshaun Watson twice, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston) have each had five winners.
All the Manning Award winners follow in the footsteps of the Mannings themselves. In college, Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning combined for over 25,000 passing yards and 201 touchdowns while playing in 10 bowl games and earning four bowl MVP awards. Archie was the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, while both Peyton and Eli were selected No. 1 overall.
