In his last two games Marcus Mariota has completed 39-60 passes for 538 yards, 5 tds and no interceptions, losing one game, and he fell in the Heisman Trophy race from first to fourth.
For the season, Oregon’s dual-threat quarterback 183 of 285 passing for 2,819 yards, 25 TDs and 0 INTs; 66 rushes for 477 yards and 9 TDs. He’s thrown a PAC-12 record 343 passes without an interception while leading his team to 9-1 record and #5 ranking.
No stiffarm needed: Marcus Mariota got downgraded severely in the Heisman watch lists after Oregon’s loss to Stanford, a game he played with an injured knee. He was 20-34 with two touchdowns 250 yards, and has not thrown an interception since the 11th game of his redshirt freshman season.
Want clutch? The Ducks all-time leader in pass efficiency is 20-21 in the fourth quarter (95.2%) for 263 yards and 5 tds.
Yet Jameis Winston, Johnny Manziel and Bryce Petty of Baylor are all ahead of him in most watch lists for the award. Manziel remains near the top despite losing two games and throwing 11 interceptions on the year. A.J. McCarron remains a distant fifth, despite quarterbacking the Crimson Tide to two national championships and a current #1 ranking.
Oregon has never had a Heisman Trophy winner. Joey Harrington finished in the top four in 2001. Terry Baker of Oregon State won in 1962, and no player in the West has won from a school other than USC since Jim Plunkett won in 1970.
Mariota won’t break that string unless he has three great games, including an impressive performance in the PAC-12 Championship. Even then, he’d need Winston, Manziel and Petty to falter in some way. Winston is currently under investigation for a rape charge. Manziel faces LSU in Death Valley this weekend and at #8 Missouri Saturday November 30th. Petty and the Bears travel to Oklahoma State Saturday night.
On the field, Winston and the Seminoles don’t face a serious challenge the rest of the way. The have Idaho this weekend, then travel to 4-6 Florida. Duke currently leads the Coastal Division of the ACC at 8-2, their likely opponent in the conference championship. The Blue Devils have losses this year to Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech.
As a Heisman afterthought, Mariota is a victim of several things. The Ducks are out of favor with the national media, particularly ESPN, after being dominated by Stanford. Marcus is a quiet guy who doesn’t promote himself, not that he should, but even his big plays are done with quiet efficiency rather than chest thumping, superman-posing or flair. He hands the ball to an official and slaps the helmets of the linemen.
In a just world, his modesty and character would make him a better candidate. But in the hype-addled world of the award season, style and drama factor seem to matter. At the same time, Dennis Dixon, Jeremiah Masoli and Darron Thomas all had winning records and good numbers in the Oregon offense. Rightly or wrongly, Mariota also suffers from the system label, and the perception that Oregon’s record and his numbers are built beating bad teams.
It will take a win over a Top Five opponent in a bowl for Super Mario to truly be appreciated nationally. Unfortunately, Heisman ballots are due by December 9th. The winner is announced Saturday night December 14th, a week after the conference championship games.
In a close race, the voting could go a lot of ways, swayed dramatically by both on-field results and off-field firestorms. Too bad, because Mariota embodies everything the award is supposed to be about, and he’s played superb football. If he completes the season without a pick, it will be a remarkable achievement, with or without the bronze trophy.
As for Marcus, he’d probably settle for four more wins.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=i__Fzj-dI_I
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