Marcus Mariota is going to win the 2014 Heisman Trophy*

Against Pac-12 teams, he’s completing 66 percent of his passes and averaging 9.6 yards per attempt (just off his 10.0 yards per attempt against all foes, which leads the nation), and has thrown for 21 touchdowns in seven games.

All of them, even the two who won the Heisman, threw at least four interceptions in their respective seasons. Mariota has tossed two.

With just Colorado and Oregon State left on the regular season schedule, the lone credible threat to Mariota’s chances of being the statistically superior Heisman candidate and the leader of a College Football Playoff team is Arizona State, looming as the Ducks’ Pac-12 title game counterpart.

Arizona State hasn’t beaten Oregon since 2004, the only losing season in Mike Bellotti’s 14 years with the Ducks; that season was so bad Oregon hired a fancy new offensive coordinator in the offseason. It was so long ago that the guy they hired was Gary Crowton.

Mariota needs to stay his course and nothing more to win the Heisman. And there’s no indication whatsoever that he won’t do that. So Marcus Mariota will win the Heisman*.

This week’s statistical comparison:

Prescott vs. Tennessee-Martin: 14-for-23, 206 yards, two TDs; six carries, 54 yards, TD
Mariota vs. Utah: 17-or-29, 239 yards, three TDs; 18 carries, 114 yards, TD

Mississippi State didn’t really run up the score on the Skyhawks, leading just 24-3 at halftime, but it was 38-3 after three quarters, by which time Prescott was out. Mariota played well into the fourth against Utah, so this isn’t apples and oranges.

But I don’t think Heisman voters will care that much about that, given that Mariota wins head-to-head comparisons with all of his competition almost every week. Prescott’s bigger problem is that he’s got the trump card -- he’s the quarterback of an undefeated SEC team -- and it’s worthless.

Maybe Prescott lights up Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Johnny Manziel-style, this weekend. And maybe he punctures the Mississippi defense in the Egg Bowl. And maybe he puts on a show in the SEC Championship Game like Cam Newton once did.

I don’t know for sure if even all of that together is going to be enough for him this year. And, well, Alabama’s favored by about a touchdown this week, so it might be a moot point next Monday, anyway.

Jameis Winston has thrown more interceptions in his last two games than Mariota has thrown this or last season, and has thrown one fewer interception this year than Mariota has in his career. He runs like a truck with a flat tire even when not nursing a sprained ankle while Mariota glides like a Tesla, but, yes, Winston’s clearly the better pro prospect, haters, and you just don’t want him to win another Heisman because you hate #TalkinBoutTheNoles.

If Winston plays well in a dominant Florida State win over Miami, well, maybe there’s something interesting to talk about in regards to his candidacy come next week? But last year, when Winston wasn’t really throwing picks, he threw two (with just one touchdown) against Miami (while also generally aerating the ‘Canes, to be fair), so I wouldn’t count on him being brilliant on Saturday night.

Another week, another fine day on the ground from Gordon, who had 205 rushing yards, a score on the ground and a pretty 27-yard receiving touchdown. This is what he needs to keep doing against overmatched competition to get to New York.

And if you’re not Mariota, you’re just looking for a trip this year.

It’s been a long, long while since we’ve seen a quarterback improve from year-to-year like this.

Last year (and in 2012), Boykin was an exciting, athletic project at the position. He wasn’t accurate, and he was playing in offenses that were average at best. Now, with a more open offense and a better command of it, Boykin’s a revelation. His 23 touchdowns this year are more than he had in his freshman and sophomore campaigns combined, and he’s sitting on just four picks scattered across four games.

Sure, he’s been much better against unranked teams than against top competition, but TCU definitely didn’t lose to Baylor because of what its offense did. In the four games since, Boykin has thrown 12 touchdowns against two interceptions.

He’s not winning anything, but he’s fun, and he’s improved. That counts for something.

Told you so.