Marcus Mariota vs. Washington State: Stat Line, Highlights, Twitter Reaction

The No. 2 Oregon Ducks have a ton of talent, but even they fall into the trap of leaning on their star player. On Saturday night against the Washington State Cougars, they squeezed every ounce out of Marcus Mariota they could.

In the end, it was just enough as the Ducks escaped Martin Stadium with a 38-31 victory to remain undefeated.

Even though Mariota completed 21-of-25 passes for 329 yards and five touchdowns, he was sacked seven times. He shook off some poor play from his teammates and a spirited performance from the Cougars to guide his team to victory.

In the first half, Mariota was getting little to no support from his offensive line, per Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman:

"

Marcus Mariota attempts 10 passes in the first half and gets sacked 5 times behind #Ducks patchwork O-line.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) September 21, 2014"

CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm joked that the Oregon offense had a somewhat repetitive nature:

The running game was also doing little to help the junior star. Byron Marshall, Thomas Tyner and Royce Freeman combined to rush for 21 yards.

Despite that, Mariota finished the first half 7-of-10 passing for 165 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 24 yards rushing, which is all the more impressive when you consider he was sacked five times. Twice Mariota tied the game with touchdown passes, first Devon Allen for 80 yards to make it 7-7 in the first quarter and then connecting with Keanon Lowe in the second to knot it up at 14-14.

Entering Saturday, Mariota sat atop ESPN's Heisman Watch. At the very least, he did little to cede his position.

Although Mariota's numbers weren't as gaudy as his counterpart Connor Halliday (43-of-63 463 yards and four touchdowns), Oregon's win arguably increased his Heisman Trophy stock.

His strong play in a less-than ideal situation speaks volumes about the player he is. Calling the Ducks a one-man show wouldn't be entirely accurate, but the extent to which the team's fate is tied to Mariota was laid bare against the Cougars.

Needing a steady hand to right the ship in the second half, Oregon looked toward its quarterback.

In the last 30 minutes, Mariota completed 14-of-15 passes and tossed two touchdowns. The last one came on a slant route to Keanon Lowe with 5:33 remaining.

The Ducks' defense finally stepped up and they were the beneficiary of a missed pass-interference call after the score, but that shouldn't detract from what Mariota did.

His poise and accuracy in the face of a potentially catastrophic upset was impressive. With every passing game, Mariota is proving that he's not only the top Heisman candidate, he's also the best NFL prospect in the nation.