Marcus Mariota Shakes Big Game Demons, Tightens Grip on Heisman

Marcus Mariota had not one but two Heisman moments in Saturday's win over Michigan State, and although he didn't win the game in the last minute or hurdle a defender or even find the end zone on either of them, they might have been the two biggest plays of the weekend.

With his team, Oregon, pinned against the ropes against a defense that some have called the best in the country, Mariota converted a pair of 3rd-and-longs on consecutive possessions that eventually led to touchdowns. And he converted them on plays that he—just like any other mere mortal—had no business converting.

First, with the Ducks trailing 27-18 in the third quarter and momentum squarely in MSU's camp, Mariota felt the pocket collapsing on 3rd-and-10 from his 41. Instead of eating the ball and taking the sack, though, he sidestepped out of it, made another two defenders miss, then shoveled an off-balance pass to freshman running back Royce Freeman for 17 yards and a first down:

Oregon would score five plays later on a 24-yard pass from Mariota to Devon Allen, cutting the lead to 27-25.

Then, after a Michigan State three-and-out, Oregon got the ball back and faced a 3rd-and-9 from roughly the same spot as Mariota's last big play, its own 42-yard line. This time—albeit with the benefit of a dubious non-holding call—he turned the corner on four Spartans defenders, all of whom appeared to have a pursuit angle, and picked up the first down on his own with an 11-yard scamper.

Oregon would score four plays later on a 37-yard pass from Mariota to Keanon Lowe, taking the lead for good, 32-27.

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All in all, Mariota finished with a line most quarterbacks would dare not even dream of against Michigan State: 17-of-28 completions for 318 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He added nine carries for 42 yards. His team gained 491 yards and hung 46 points on a defense that allowed an average of 252 and 13.2 last season.

Crazier still, he did it behind an offensive line that was overmatched, quite often, by Michigan State's front seven, conjuring plays from thin air despite a pocket that was caving in around him.

All of this—the stat line, the timing and the context—combined to earn him a glowing review from CBS Sports' Rob Rang:

"

It wasn't just physical talent that will have NFL scouts attending this game taking notice. Mariota and the Ducks showed composure and resiliency against the Spartans, coming back to score 28 unanswered points in the second half after facing a 24-18 halftime deficit. Mariota played his best as the game tightened, completing passes requiring velocity, touch and accuracy and frequently buying time with his legs.

"

Mariota needed this after the way his season ended in 2013.

Playing on a sprained MCL, his Heisman campaign petered out in vivid fashion: a 26-20 loss to his archrival, Stanford. Oregon did not score until the 50th minute of that game, and after a 16-point output in a loss at Arizona two weeks later, Mariota's stock fell so far that he wasn't even invited to the Heisman ceremony in New York.

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Michigan State's defense has been likened to Stanford's, and although such comparisons are reductive (at best), watching Mariota rise to the occasion against a big, angry, physical front seven and an aggressive secondary felt extra important.

Those are things that Oregon's offense (read: Mariota) is "supposed" to be incapable of beating.

(Again: 491 yards and 46 points.)

"We think we're physical," said head coach Mark Helfrich after the game, per Bryan Fischer of NFL.com. "I'm sure we'll still get those questions though."

Fair or not, Helfrich is right. Until Mariota proves he can beat—and better yet, look good against—Stanford, he and his team will continue facing questions about toughness. One would think they drove a stake into such criticisms Saturday, but it won't be long until the "do it against a non-Big Ten team" arguments begin to crop up.

But those arguments will only crop-up from the mouths of the uninformed, and so will the questions about Oregon and Mariota's toughness. Because Big Ten team or not, only the uninformed would question what Michigan State's defense is capable of. Even in allowing 46 points Saturday, there were times when it looked plenty good. There were just more times when Mariota looked better.

And that, folks, is how you go from "one of the Heisman favorites" to the literal co-Heisman frontrunner.

Even with the guy who won last season, Jameis Winston, around and playing well, this is Mariota's trophy to lose.

Four-hundred ninety-one yards. Forty-six points.

Follow Brian Leigh on Twitter: @BLeighDAT