Rose Bowl: Mariota and Winston Not Even a Competition

This bowl season has been one of the best in recent memory, with a plethora of close games that have come down to the wire. Even in games where the opponents haven’t been overly intriguing, fans all over the country have been on the edge of their seats while watching on television.

Now, as the inaugural College Football Playoff approaches, the games are ostensibly going to get even better.

The first game, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, sees the Oregon Ducks go against the Florida State Seminoles.

The media has tried to paint this matchup as a quarterback duel, pitting Marcus Mariota versus Jameis Winston. The last two Heisman Trophy winners, and potentially the first two quarterbacks taken in the 2015 NFL draft. It’s a match made in heaven, right?

Not in the least.

Mariota has been drastically better than Winston this year, and it’s not even close. It’s almost unfair to Mariota—a travesty, even—that Winston is even in the same conversation right now.

After the conclusion of the Fiesta Bowl and before the start of the Orange Bowl, ESPN was previewing the Rose Bowl.  They showed a comparison of the two opposing signal-callers, and the chart was laughable.

	Mariota	Winston
Passing YDS	3,783	3,559
Passing TDs	38	24
Interceptions	2	17
Rushing YDS	669	80
Rushing TDs	14	3

Take away the names on top of the graphs, and one would pick Mariota’s line as better every day of the week.

It’s tough to pinpoint the exact reason why Winston is being compared to Mariota. It could be the fact that Oregon is perceived as second-tier because of their style of play or that Mariota’s stats are somehow deceiving.

No matter the reason, Winston has been tremendously overrated leading up to the bowl game.

As the teams take the field on New Year’s Day, the spotlight is undoubtedly going to be on the two quarterbacks, and rightly so.  That is the most important position on the field, especially as college football has evolved into an offensively dominant game.

John Raoux/Associated Press

Winston has shown signs of brilliance throughout his collegiate career and has led some impressive comebacks, but Mariota's numbers are far superior. The Seminoles QB has turned the ball over at an alarming rate, and that’s against less-than-stellar ACC competition.

Jimbo Fisher called Mariota one of the greatest players college football has ever seen, per Matt Baker of The Tampa Bay Times. He also said that Winston has been better than he was last year, but the stats show otherwise.

If anything, Winston should be praised for his ability to win, not for his greatness as a quarterback.

Make no mistake, just because Oregon has the better quarterback doesn’t mean they are a lock to win the game. Winston has shown an uncanny ability this year to overcome his lackadaisical play by leading comeback after comeback. He also has a 26-0 record as a starter, which is unheard of and has to be admired.

As the two teams fight in the trenches in the Granddaddy of Them All, the Seminoles might be able to find a way to win, as they have so many times over the past two years. However, even if that's the case, it won’t be because they have a more talented quarterback.