Marcus Mariota Of Oregon Wins Heisman Trophy

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Oregon Duck Quarterback Wins Heisman
Image Source: New York Times Karsten Moran
Oregon Duck Quarterback Wins Heisman
Image Source: New York Times Karsten Moran

Oregon Duck Quarterback Wins Heisman Trophy In Landslide

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota was named the Heisman Trophy winner Saturday night and controlled the voting committee in a runaway to become the first native Hawaiian to ever win the award. He delivered a powerful speech that put a focus on the many children that idolize the new Heisman winner and his native land of Hawaii. Mariota was chocked up many times, emotions were of course high, but he never missed in delivering his speech.

I’m humbled to be standing here today,” Mariota said moments after he was announced as the winner. “I had to give thanks to so many people because where I am today, it’s all due to all those people,” Mariota later said. “It’s hard not to get emotional. It’s been a long journey. My emotions got the best of me.”

While Marcus Mariota may have let his emotions get the best of him Saturday night, he never let that happen on the field this season. He leads the nation in passer rating (186.2), is fifth in total offense (342.5 yards per game) and has led the Ducks to a Pac-12 title with a chance to play for their first national championship.

Mariota went 254-372, passing for 3,783 yards and 38 touchdowns. He only threw 2 interceptions during the season. The 6-4 Junior completed 68 percent of his passes. He has been a dual threat since he put on an Oregon Duck uniform, also running for 14 touchdowns this year. In total, Mariota accounted for 53 total touchdowns, a Pac-12 record.

Mariota received the second-highest percentage of possible points (90.92) in Heisman history, behind only Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith, who had 91.63 in 2006. Southern California and now Detroit tailback Reggie Bush received 91.77 percent of possible points in 2005, but his victory was later vacated for violating NCAA rules.

In the Inaugural College Football Playoff, the second ranked Oregon Ducks will face the defending champion Florida State in the Rose Bowl on January 1st, 2015. The winner will have the opportunity to play for history in the first College Football Championship. It will be only the fourth time in college football history where two Heisman Trophy winners will face one another. The last time this occurred was when Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow faced in the 2009 BCS Championship.

Last year, Florida State freshman Jameis Winston won the Heisman Trophy and led the Seminoles to an undefeated season. Winston has done the same again this year, but not in great fashion as they did one season ago. This season, Winston finished in 6th place for the Heisman, the lowest ranking seed for a returning Heisman Trophy winner.