Move over Peyton Manning. Make room for Tyler Bray.
The junior signal-caller may never take first place in the hearts of Tennessee fans, but he has taken over first place in the record book.
In the Volunteers’ 55-48 victory over Troy on Saturday, Bray completed 29 passes for 530 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. The passing total posted by Bray surpassed the all-time Tennessee single-game passing yardage by seven yards, which was set by Manning in 1997.
For his performance, Bray has been named the NRA/Lindy’s Gunslinger of the Week.
Bray’s fourth quarter heroics included a 46-yard scoring pass to Justin Hunter to tie the game at 48-48 with under three minutes remaining. For the game, he averaged over 18 yards per completion.
The record-setting performance was also one of the best in Southeastern Conference history. Bray’s yardage total was only 14 yards behind the highest total ever by an SEC player – Georgia’s Eric Zeier had 544 yards in 1993.
Throughout the 2012 season, the top passing performance in college football each week will be honored with this recognition from the National Rifle Association and Lindy’s Sports. At the end of the season, the NRA/Lindy’s National Gunslinger of the Year will be named.