Teddy Bridgewater Named Maxwell Award Semifinalist

The college football award semifinalist lists have begun to pour in, and there have been a few surprises as far as the mighty Louisville Cardinals are concerned. Most notable among those surprises has been Marcus Smith and Calvin Pryor not being named Bednarik Award semifinalists, and Hakeem Smith not getting a nod from the Jim Thorpe Award folks.

One piece of news that came as no surprise was Teddy Bridgewater being named a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award, which is given to the best player in college football.

Here's the release:

University of Louisville junior quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is one of 16 semifinalists for the Maxwell Award, given to the Collegiate Player of the Year, the Maxwell Football Club announced on Tuesday.

This season, Bridgewater has produced outstanding numbers in leading the 17th-ranked Cardinals to a 7-1 record, including a 3-1 mark in the American Athletic Conference.

A native of Miami, Fla., Bridgewater is second in the country in completion percentage (73.7) and third in passing efficiency (206.98). In eight games as a starter, Bridgewater is third nationally with 23 passing touchdowns and is in the midst of tossing a touchdown strike in a school record 20-straight games.

Bridgewater has thrown for 2,557 yards and has passed for 300 or more yards in six games, and has tossed just two interceptions in 243 passing attempts this season.

The Louisville offense has been one of the most productive in the country, averaging 39.4 points per game, which is 20th nationally and 13th nationally in passing yards per game at 333.6.

The Cardinals are off this week, but return to the field on Friday, Nov. 8, in a nationally televised ESPN contest versus Connecticut at 8:30 p.m.

A strong field of Maxwell Award semifinalists includes a representative from every major FBS conference as well two student-athletes each from Baylor, Oregon State and Texas A&M. Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel are repeat semifinalists from a season ago.

The winners of the 77th Maxwell Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show which will be broadcast on ESPN on Dec. 12. Three finalists for each award will be announced on Nov. 25, and a second round of voting will take place at that time. A formal presentation of the award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club's Awards Dinner on Feb. 28, 2014, in Atlantic City, N.J. Semifinalist voting, presented by the Maxwell Football Club will begin on Oct. 30 and close on Nov. 24. Eligible voters include Maxwell Football Club members, NCAA Head Football Coaches, Sports Information Directors and selected national media.