Washington State’s Gardner Minshew named Rose Bowl Player of the Week

The weekly awards continue to trickle in for first-year Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew. After completing 30-of-40 passes for 430 yards and five touchdowns during a 56-37 win over Oregon State Saturday, Minshew was named the Rose Bowl Game’s Pac-12 Player of the Week. The Rose Bowl anoints a player of the week from the Pac-12 and one Big Ten during the regular season. Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor joined Minshew, earning week six honors for the Big Ten. Minshew, a graduate transfer QB from East Carolina who signed with the Cougars after originally committing to Alabama, won a starting spot during fall camp and has led WSU to a 5-1 record through the first six weeks of the season. He hasn’t thrown for fewer than 300 yards in a game and Saturday’s effort against the Beavers marked his fourth 400-yard of the season. Minshew is currently leading all FBS quarterbacks in passing yards - and by quite a wide margin, too. Minshew has thrown for 2,422 yards, while Hawaii’s Cole McDonald, in second, has managed 2,100. The WSU signal-caller is also the national leader in passing attempts (313) and completions (215). He’s thrown 19 touchdowns compared to five interceptions and is completing nearly 69 percent of his throws. Another glowing number for Minshew is his sack total. The fifth-year senior has been brought down just five times in six games and has rushed for two touchdowns on the season.