Marcus Mariota vs. Michigan State: Stats, Highlights, Twitter Reaction

With the Oregon Ducks' 46-27 win over the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday, Marcus Mariota took a big step forward toward booking his place in New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation.

The junior quarterback finished 17-of-28 passing with 318 yards and three touchdowns. He added 42 yards on the ground.

Chris Huston of HeismanPundit.com believes that Mariota has jumped to the top of the Heisman race after the victory:

Following the game, Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich had one word to explain why Mariota did what he did on Saturday, per John Canzano of The Oregonian:

It wasn't the most impressive performance of his career, but rarely has the player's importance to the Oregon offense been more glaring. The Ducks offense didn't look itself on Saturday, especially in the first half.

Mariota's 70-yard touchdown pass to Devon Allen in the second quarter was one of the few big plays for the unit through the first two frames, via ESPN College Football:

NFL.com's Bryan Fischer was surprised at how poorly the home team was executing, especially with Mariota at 100 percent:

Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde thought that Oregon was far too reliant on Mariota's play-making ability and resourcefulness:

One of the biggest reasons the Ducks were struggling was the constant pressure on Mariota from the Michigan State front seven. The obvious way to stop a mobile dual-threat quarterback is hitting him in the pocket before he can get going, and that's exactly what the Spartans were doing in the first half, per ESPN Stats and Info:

Making matters worse was Andre Yruretagoyena's exit with an injury, per Lindsay Schnell of Sports Illustrated:

Michigan State led 24-18 going into halftime.

In the second half, Oregon was a completely different team. Smart Football's Chris B. Brown felt that the Ducks needed somebody to be the spark offensively, and Mariota answered the call:

Oregon punted on its first two possessions of the second half before reeling off four touchdowns on their final five drives. Mariota was responsible for two of those touchdowns, first hitting Allen for a 24-yard TD pass and then connecting with Keanon Lowe for six points, which gave the Ducks the lead back.

From there, Michigan State was unable to mount a comeback.

It's still very early in the season, but you have to agree with Huston that Mariota has vaulted to the top of the Heisman Trophy chase, if he wasn't already there. He might have had some trouble early on, but you expect your best players to respond when handed adversity, and that's exactly what Mariota did.

You can't discount the strength of the Michigan State defense, either. According to Forde, the Spartans hadn't surrendered 30 or more points since 2011:

Every Heisman winner in the past has had that one signature performance that voters can look at when they make their final selection. Saturday may well have been that game for Mariota.