Oregon QB Marcus Mariota wins Heisman

Oregon QB Marcus Mariota wins Heisman

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota became the first player in school history to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday evening.

The most prestigious award in College Football, the Heisman Trophy, was awarded to Oregon Quarterback Marcus Mariota on Saturday evening in front of a New York crowd at the Best Buy Theater. Mariota became the first Hawaiian to win the Heisman, and the first player from the University of Oregon to win the award.

Mariota, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, had an impeccable 2014-15 season, as he compiled over 4,000 all-purpose yards and 52 total touchdowns while leading Oregon to a 12-1 record and Pac 12 title. For Mariota’s impressive stats and resume, he received nearly 91% of all possible votes for the award, which is the second highest mark in the last 50 years.

Mariota beat out fellow Heisman finalists Amari Cooper and Melvin Gordon. Cooper, a wide receiver for Alabama, broke several SEC records this season on his way to helping lead the Crimson Tide to a birth in the first ever College Football Playoff. He finished the season with 115 catches for 1,656 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns. Gordon, a running back for Wisconsin, broke several records of his own this season, and he finished the year with 2,336 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns.

After winning several national awards in the past week, and the biggest award of them all on Saturday evening, Mariota will next look to tackle the College Football Playoff. Mariota and the Ducks are the second seed in the inaugural playoff. Oregon will play third seeded Florida State on New Year’s Day in the playoff semifinal. Florida State is led by last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Jameis Winston. Like Mariota, Winston is expected to be a top pick in next year’s NFL Draft if he decides to leave school early. Neither Winston nor Mariota has talked about their plans for the future as of yet.

The winner of the game between Oregon and Florida State will play the winner of the second semifinal matchup between Amari Cooper’s top seeded Alabama Crimson Tide and the fourth seeded Ohio State Buckeyes. The National Championship game will be played on January 12th, 2015.

Be social, please share!

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *