BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Football quarterback Bailey Zappe was named to the Davey O’Brien Award’s “Davey Double” List after his 523-yard, five-touchdown effort on Saturday vs. UTSA, it was announced on Monday morning. The Hilltopper quarterback was 1-of-16 honored for their Week 6 performances.
In addition, Zappe was added to the Davey O’Brien Award Watch List, joining 62 other quarterbacks who were on the list as of September 28. Any player now listed on the preseason watch list is now added to the midseason watch list and will be eligible to be voted as a semifinalist, finalist, or the winner of the 2021 Davey O’Brien Award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football quarterback.
In Saturday night’s matchup against the undefeated Roadrunners, Zappe completed 38-of-60 passing attempts for 523 yards, with five touchdown passes and one interception. After 424 vs. UT Martin and 435 at Army and 488 at #16/17 Michigan State, Zappe has four of the top 15 passing yard games in Hilltopper history. Zappe connected with wide receiver Jerreth Sterns 16 times for 195 yards and two scores.
The 523 yards were the second-most by an FBS quarterback this season, with only Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong’s 554 yards at North Carolina on September 18 being greater. The 523 yards were the 11th-most by a Conference USA quarterback all-time, and the most since Southern Miss’ Nick Mullens had 591 vs. Rice on October 1, 2016.
Through five games, the Victoria, Texas, native has completed 171-of-243 (70.4%) passes for 2,235 yards and 21 touchdowns, compared to only three interceptions. Zappe threw 203 consecutive passes without a pick, the second-longest streak in WKU history behind Tyrell Pigrome’s streak of 279 in 2020.
Zappe’s 447-yard passing average leads all FBS quarterbacks, with the next-closest being Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong at 410 yards. The graduate senior transfer from Houston Baptist leads all of college football with 12,239 career passing yards – a 291.4-yard average in 42 career games.
The winner of the National Quarterback of the Week from this list of 16 will be announced on Tuesday. The 2021 Davey O’Brien Award Winner will be unveiled live on ESPN on Thursday, December 9, during the College Football Awards.How to Follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Football, follow the program via social media @WKUFootball on Twitter and Facebook.
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