A November to remember, history suggests, is the key to winning the Heisman Trophy.
And for Saint Louis School graduate Marcus Mariota, who quarterbacks No. 2-ranked Oregon, that stretch drive begins today at 4 p.m. in a nationally-televised Pac-12 showdown against No. 6 Stanford.
For several weeks Mariota has been the betting favorite, but as Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel showed last year and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III illustrated the year before, November is where the most prestigious award in college athletics is secured.
September and October games can put a player in the conversation, but this is the month that carries the most weight with the 929 ballot holders.
Manziel grabbed his in an upset of No. 1-ranked Alabama on Nov. 10, 2012, becoming the first freshman to win the award in its 78-year history. RG3 rode a Nov. 19, 2011, victory over Oklahoma.
Finalists are announced Dec. 9 and the winner is revealed Dec. 14.
Oregon will still have three regular-season games — Utah, Arizona and Oregon State — remaining after this week, plus the prospect of the Pac-12 title game. But this one looms largest for Mariota, who would become the third Crusader to finish in the top 10 of Heisman balloting after Jason Gesser (2002) and Herman Wedemeyer (1945-46) — and first to get to New York.
After an open date, the unbeaten Ducks (8-0) play the most anticipated Pac-12 game of the season against the Cardinal (7-1), a team that knocked them out of the national championship hunt last year and the only one to beat Mariota in his 20-1 reign.
This year Mariota has impressively guided the Ducks past two nationally ranked teams, Washington and UCLA. But Stanford, the best team Oregon plays before a possible national championship showdown, is the prize.
And, for Mariota, the brightest, most compelling stage.
This is not wasted on Mariota, who says he can’t escape the “crawl” on ESPN that shows where he stands in Heisman polls. “It is what it is, but I don’t pay too much attention,” he said. “Besides, I hardly have enough time to watch TV.”
Still, this is the time of the year when the burden of being a Heisman contender can weigh on hopefuls far in excess of the 25 pounds of the actual statue.
Which is why Mariota tries to take to heart the counsel of Joey Harrington, a 2001 Heisman Trophy finalist for the Ducks and Fox TV analyst.
“He talked to me about how to handle what’s going on, especially with the national media,” Mariota said. “He told me just to go out there and have fun. I mean, play the game I love to play (and) wherever it takes you, it takes you.”
Mariota said, “I think his main message to me was if you focus on it (the Heisman) too much then you get your head wrapped up too much in it and you won’t play well. Really, he told me just to go out there, have fun, enjoy the game and see where it takes you.”
Beginning today we see if that means the biggest steps toward New York.
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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
