LOGAN, Utah – Utah State sophomore Jordan Love was announced as one of 16 semifinalists for the 2018 Davey O'Brien Award, which is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback.
 
Love is one of two players from the Mountain West, along with Fresno State's Marcus McMaryion, and the only player from the Beehive State to be listed among the 16 semifinalists.
 
Joining the two Mountain West signal callers on the list are (in alphabetical order): Ian Book (Notre Dame), Mason Fine (North Texas), Ryan Finley (North Carolina State), Jake Fromm (Georgia), Will Grier (West Virginia), Dwayne Haskins (Ohio State), Justin Herbert (Oregon), D'Eriq King (Houston), Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), McKenzie Milton (Central Florida), Gardner Minshew (Washington State), Kyler Murray (Oklahoma), Shea Patterson (Michigan) and Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama).
 
Just two of the quarterbacks, Grier and Milton, have previously been named semifinalists. Both received the honor in 2017. Five universities represented – Clemson, Houston, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Oregon – are home to previous Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award winners.
 
Additionally, Love was one of 32 players named to the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) 2018 midseason watch list for the National Performer of the Year Trophy. He is one of three players from the MW on the list, joining McMaryion and Boise State QB Brett Rypien, and the lone representative from the state of Utah.
 
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Love currently ranks third in the MW and 18th in the nation in passing efficiency (156.4), third in the MW and 27th in the nation in completion percentage (.651), fourth in the MW and 17th in the nation in passing touchdowns with 19 (2.1 pg), fifth in the MW and 49th in the nation in total offense (249.4 ypg), sixth in the MW and 36th in the nation in passing (242.8 ypg), and seventh in the MW and 45th in the nation in completions (18.9 pg).
 
On the season, Love has completed 170-of-261 passes for 2,185 yards, 19 touchdowns and four interceptions. The 19 TD passes are tied for the seventh-most in a single season in school history, along with Anthony Calvillo (1993) and Brent Snyder (1988). Chuckie Keeton holds the single-season school record with 27 touchdown passes set in 2012.
 
Love's completion percentage of 64.5 currently ranks fourth in a single season. Keeton, who is in his first season as an offensive graduate assistant at Utah State, also holds that school record at 69.4 percent set in 2013. For his career, Love is completing 60.3 percent of his passes (299-of-496), which ranks fifth all-time in school history.
 
Of the Aggies' nine games this season, Love has not played in the fourth quarter in five of those contests (New Mexico State, Tennessee Tech, UNLV, New Mexico and Hawai'i), and has not played in the entire second half twice (Tennessee Tech and Hawai'i). Furthermore, the native of Bakersfiled, Calif., played just one series in the third quarter against the Lobos, meaning he has sat on the sidelines for eight quarters, which equates to two games.
 
Love has orchestrated a Utah State offense that ranks first in the Mountain West and second in the nation in scoring with an average of 50.1 points per game, trailing only Alabama (51.3 ppg). The Aggies are also first in the MW and 14th in the nation in total offense (485.7 ypg).
 
On the season, Love has garnered four Mountain West Offensive Player-of-the-Week accolades, which are the most by an Aggie in a single season since Keeton was named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week four times during the 2012 campaign.
 
For his career, Love has earned five MW player-of-the-week honors, which is tied with Keeton for the third-most in school history.
 
The collection of Davey O'Brien Award semifinalists is comprised of four seniors, seven juniors, four sophomores and one freshman. Schools from eight conference affiliations (ACC, American, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Mountain West, Pac-12 and SEC) and one FBS Independent make up the list. No league had more than two semifinalists.
 
The quarterbacks' 16 teams own a combined record of 124-17 (.879) this season. In addition, 13 of their schools are currently ranked in the Top 25 of the most recent AP poll, including Love and the Aggies at No. 14.
 
The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award is the nation's oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award.
 
The Davey O'Brien Fan Vote counts as five percent during each round of the voting process, and is combined with the results from the Foundation's national selection committee, which is comprised of journalists, broadcasters, commentators and former winners.
 
After clearing the first-round totals, the Fan Vote at VoteOBrien.org will re-open on Nov. 7 and remain open until 11 a.m. (MT) on Sunday, Nov. 18, for the second round of balloting. Fans are invited to cast their vote for the nation's best college quarterback once daily per email address.
 
In conjunction with ESPN, the Davey O'Brien Foundation and its National Selection Committee will release the names of the three finalists on Monday, Nov. 19. The 2018 Davey O'Brien winner will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, Dec. 6. The 42nd Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner will be held Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
 
Utah State (8-1, 5-0 MW) returns home to host San José State (1-8, 1-4 MW) on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m., in the Aggies' annual Senior Day game on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium. The game will be streamed live on Facebook.
 
For ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online at www.UtahStateAggies.com.

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Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.