3 things to know about Marcus Mariota, Oregon’s star quarterback
Oregon faces UCLA in the top showdown of Week 9. Here’s what you need to know about the Ducks’ signal-caller.
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Oregon is undefeated and on track to make the BCS Championship Game, despite being third in the initial BCS rankings (the rankings are heavily schedule-influenced, and the Ducks’ slate down the stretch is significantly more difficult than No. 2 FSU’s). At the center of the Oregon attack is QB Marcus Mariota, who is now 19-1 as a starter and fifth in the nation in both passing efficiency and total offense. The only other player in the top five in both categories? Reigning Heisman winner Johnny Manziel, who just took his second home loss of the year. As such, Mariota leads the Heisman oddsmaking, and while the race can change week-by-week in November, for right now count on him hoisting the trophy.
2. He still hasn’t thrown an interception
Then again, it’s pretty easy to be one of the nation’s most efficient quarterbacks when you never lose the ball. Mariota’s sitting on 19 passing touchdowns and zero picks in his 197 attempts, and he’s averaging over 10 yards per passing attempt. Of course, Bryce Petty at Baylor over there is averaging over 14 yards per, but the toughest defense Baylor has faced thus far is a randomly strewn set of garden gnomes, so let’s check back in with him in mid-November.
Oh yeah, and he can fly.
3. He’s still only 19 years old
If anything, Marcus Mariota’s best days as a quarterback are still ahead of him. This is his second year of college ball and, as a Honolulu native, he spent his high school years playing against competition in Hawaii. That’s not to suggest Hawaiians are inherently bad at football or anything prejudiced like that, but we’re talking about a state that just doesn’t produce many widely recruited athletes. It’s not Texas or Ohio. Mariota’s good enough to go to the NFL now, and barring catastrophe, he’s going to be a very high pick when he does. It’s just too bad there isn’t a synonym for “tank” that rhymes with “Marcus.” Or with “Mariota” for that matter. What the heck rhymes with “Mariota”?
4. Nothing rhymes with “Mariota”
OK, so that’s four things to know about him. Good talk.
For more on the Oregon Ducks, get Addicted To Quack.
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