Updated

No Big Ten quarterback has won the Manning Award since its inception in 2004, but 2015 could be the league's best chance yet.

Connor Cook of Michigan State, Tommy Armstrong of Nebraska and Christian Hackenberg of Penn State represent the league on the Manning Award's watch list that was released Thursday.

While the omission of an Ohio State quarterback might be a surprise to some, it is also doesn't really matter in the long run because players can and almost certainly will be added to the list during the season.

The Manning Award is unique in that it is the only one given out after the bowls, so bowl performance is taken into account.

Photo credit: Scott Olmos