The only thing left for Marcus Mariota to win at Oregon is the national championship.
The Ducks’ star quarterback is The Associated Press college football
player of the year, adding yet another honor to his spectacular season.
Mariota won the AP vote in the same landslide fashion he won the
Heisman Trophy. He received 49 of the 54 votes submitted by the AP Top
25 media panel. Alabama receiver Amari Cooper drew three votes.
Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon and Florida State quarterback
Jameis Winston had one vote each.
Mariota is the first Oregon player to win AP player of the year,
which was first awarded in 1998, and the eighth quarterback to win it in
the last nine years.
The junior has also won the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp player of
the year, and the Davey O’Brien and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award,
which go to the top quarterbacks in the country.
Oregon will face Florida State and last year’s Heisman winner and AP
player of the year, Winston, in the College Football Playoff semifinals
on Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl. The winner will face Alabama or Ohio State
in the national championship game Jan. 12 at AT&T Stadium in North
Texas.
With his combination of speed and a strong arm, Mariota is a play of the day waiting to happen.
He set a Pac-12 record by accounting for 53 touchdowns, including 38
TD passes. He is the highest rated passer in the country (186.33) and
has thrown for 3,783 yards and just two interceptions.
“He’s an absolute competitor, an incredible perfectionist,” Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said.
Here are a few of the most memorable Mariota moments from 2014:
THE SHOVEL: In what was perhaps the biggest
nonconference game of the season, Michigan State had Oregon in trouble
in the second half. It was 27-18 Spartans midway through the third
quarter and the Ducks were facing a third-and-10 after having already
punted away their first two second-half possessions.
Michigan State collapsed the pocket around Mariota, who eluded three
defenders, slipping and stepping around a mess of Spartans around his
feet. Mariota stumbled out of the pocket and pushed a pass to Royce
Freeman, who went for 17 yards.
That drive ended soon after with a touchdown. And so did the next
Oregon drive. And the next one. The Ducks went on to win 46-27.
SCOOP AND SCORE: As good as Mariota is, a little
luck helps. Against UCLA, the Ducks were dominating when Mariota was
driving them toward another score in the third quarter. He faked a
handoff and the ball slipped from his hand and hit the turf. The ball
bounced back into Mariota’s hands and he secured it on the go — like a
dribble drive — bursting into an untouched sprint to the end zone from
23 yards out.
DUCK TOUGH: Oregon’s rout of Stanford, Mariota’s
first win after two losses to the Cardinal, had plenty of flashy plays
from Hawaii native. Still, it was an 8-yard run early in the second
quarter on a third-and-5 around midfield which said more about Mariota
than any of the big gains and great throws.
The Stanford losses called into question the Ducks’ toughness. On
this play it was Mariota busting through a tackle and dragging a
Stanford defender for a first down that led to a touchdown. At that
point it was obvious Oregon was done being pushed around by the
Cardinal. The final: 45-16 Ducks
.
BURNING ARIZONA: From Oregon’s first big game of the
season to its latest. The Ducks and Mariota had already jumped out to a
huge lead against Arizona and Mariota assured there would be no miracle
comebacks in the Pac-12 championship.
As he did against Michigan State, Mariota escaped a crumbling pocket
and rolled to his right with his eyes down field. On the move, he
stepped into a long twisting throw that hit Darren Carrington in the
numbers for a 46-yard gain.
Source: http://khon2.com/2014/12/23/oregons-marcus-mariota-is-ap-player-of-the-year/
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