EUGENE, Ore. — Marcus Mariota is ignoring the Heisman hype.
The Oregon sophomore quarterback has moved to the top of most Heisman watch lists along with Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, but Mariota is doing all he can to avoid the topic.
“I wouldn’t say I am unaware of it, but I do my best not to pay attention,” Mariota said.
Mariota, a redshirt in his third season on campus, is rated as a first-round pick by NFLDraftScout.com. Former Colts head coach Tony Dungy said Tuesday that Mariota is “definitely a franchise quarterback in the NFL.”
That type of buzz isn’t easily ignored.
He was named Pac-12 Conference offensive player of the week for the second week in a row after throwing for 366 yards and three touchdowns while running for 88 yards and a touchdown in second-ranked Oregon’s 45-24 win at No. 16 Washington on Saturday. The previous week he set a school record with seven total touchdowns, five passing and two running, in a win over Colorado.
He opened the season by rushing for more than 100 yards in back-to-back games and then threw for a career-high 456 yards and four touchdowns against Tennessee.
Mariota ranks second in the nation with 358.3 total yards per game by throwing for 287.3 and rushing for 71 per game. He is fifth in the country in pass efficiency with a 182.4 rating.
“He’s at the top of the Heisman list for a reason,” Oregon senior receiver Josh Huff said.
Mariota has thrown for 1,724 yards and 17 touchdowns while running for 426 yards and eight scores. He has 25 total touchdowns and no turnovers on the year.
“Marcus Mariota is a special talent, he does some very special things,” Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said. “His combination of confidence, decision-making, his release and accuracy are unique.”
Mariota may have another shot to pile up statistics at home Saturday against Washington State, which gave up nearly 500 yards passing to Oregon State last week. However, Oregon is a heavy favorite to blow out the Cougars and Mariota has played into the fourth quarter only once this season because of Oregon’s large margins of victory.