The 2014 college football season has been full of surprises. None of them occurred Saturday night.
Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota ran away as the winner of the 80th Heisman Trophy for the best player in college football, becoming the first player in Ducks history to win the prestigious award. Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon was the runner-up for the award, while Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper finished third in the voting.
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Mariota has put up video game numbers for the Ducks during their dominating 12-1 campaign to date. The 21-year-old has thrown for a PAC-12 best 38 touchdowns and just two interception while posting an unbelievable 186.3 passer rating. He’s also been a force on the ground, totaling 669 rushing yards on 117 attempts while scoring 14 rushing touchdowns.
The Honolulu, Hawaii, native also caught a 26-yard receiving touchdown against rival Arizona in October and has accounted for an FBS-best 53 touchdowns on the season.
Mariota’s 2014 stats have been out-of-this-world, but his competition for the award wasn’t too shabby either. Gordon has averaged an eye-popping 7.6 yards per carry this season, racking up 2,336 rushing yards on 309 attempts while scoring 26 touchdowns. He also held the NCAA’s single-game rushing record for one week following his 408-yard outburst against Nebraska.
Cooper, who took home the Biletnikoff Award given to the nation’s top wide receiver, already has 1,656 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns on the season and has compiled more than 200 yards in three games this season.
Last year’s Heisman winner, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, wasn’t even invited to New York as a finalist, a testament to this year’s talented group.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
