THE LAST OBSTACLE FOR MARCUS MARIOTA AND OREGON’S FIRST HEISMAN TROPHY Posted by Dale Newton on Nov 11, 2014 13:18 Marcus Mariota is not focused on the award but he’s highly likely to win it anyway, and when he does he’ll accept it as a tremendous team achievement. He’ll acknowledge his family, his coaches and his teammates, and mean it. Mariota’s win would restore some lost luster and integrity to the Stiff Arm Trophy. He’d be lending it some of his. One main thing stands in his way. It isn’t Colorado and Oregon State, because the Ducks all-time leading passer is so focused and consistent that he’ll deliver in those two games. Without any overt concern about the Heisman race or the playoff race he’ll turn in two solid and award-worthy performances. He really hasn’t played a bad game in three years, and the way he prepares, it’s rock-solid likely that he’ll run and throw well in those games, against two of the conference’s worst defenses. Mariota isn’t the type to be shaken by a rivalry game. He certainly won’t take his eyes off the real prize, which is winning two more football games with his teammates. Many Heisman voters will have sent in their ballots or sealed them by the time Oregon plays in the PAC-12 Championship game, but even in that one, #8 will play well and represent the university the way he has for three years. The Ducks should clear that hurdle too. The Heisman Trophy presentation will take place on ESPN Saturday December 13 at 5 p.m. Pacific, but the winner will be decided this Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Dak Prescott is the last player in America with a chance to catch Mariota in the race for the bronze relic. If Prescott has a great game while his Mississippi State Bulldogs upset Alabama on the road, the SEC and ESPN mystique will overwhelm a solid, award-worthy season by the Ducks junior quarterback. Mariota is a better player with better stats, and he’s been among college football’s best players for three seasons, but it’s just in the nature of award politics and demographics: if Prescott beats the Tide, he’ll pass everyone in the balloting for football’s most storied individual award. If #1 MSU slips in Saban’s crucible, Mariota is in, although Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon could pull off a miracle with big nights over Nebraska and Minnesota on the way to a B1G title game. Gordon has 1501 yards in 9 games, and with three regular season games left, he’ll crush that 2,000-yard barrier. As the mainstay on a 7-2, #22-ranked team, Gordon would have to carry the Badgers into the title game and win it to overcome Mariota and Prescott. That’s four more wins, finishing with around 2100 yards and beating a 10-point favorite Ohio State team in the conference championship. The Buckeyes would sell out to stop him, packing the box. So far he’s scored 21 total touchdowns. The numbers are there, but he has to have the spectacular finish in what’s become a dual-threat quarterback’s award. Even if Gordon achieves every element of that dominant finish, Mariota has built up a lot of momentum and led his team to a #3 ranking, and the Oregon quarterback is not likely to let go of his grip on his team’s goals this late in the year. Prescott is the real threat. Duck fans don’t care about the Heisman particularly but now that Marcus is so close, they are almost unanimous in hoping he wins it. He would make the team, the state and the sport proud on that podium, provided he can avoid the long-exhausted cliche of “the Heisman moment” by Prescott this weekend. Marcus Mariota’s entire college career has been a Heisman moment. He’s always played with class and integrity. And Mariota would trade the whole show and all its trappings for health for Hroniss Grasu and Pharaoh Brown if he had the choice. It’s a beautiful thing when individual awards go to athletes who don’t care about winning them.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 18:30:00 +0000
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