Comparing Resumes for Every Heisman Trophy Finalist

In what might have been the most anticlimactic Heisman finalist reveal in recent memory, Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper, Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon and Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota have punched their respective tickets to New York. 

There are a handful of other players who had a case. Indiana running back Tevin Coleman, TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright III and even now-injured Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett all had an argument for a trip to the ceremony. 

That said, was there a chance any one of those players would win? In all likelihood, no. 

There was a clear separation between the top three players and everyone else, and then there's another separation between Mariota and Cooper and Gordon.  

Still, how do all three resumes stack up against one another? Let's take a look. 

Marcus Mariota, Quarterback, Oregon

The Stats: 68.3 completion percentage, 3,783 passing yards on 10.2 yards per attempt, 669 rushing yards, 53 total touchdowns, two interceptions

The Skinny: Mariota is the favorite and there isn't even a second guess about it. No player has been more consistent while having a direct impact on the game on every snap. 

(For the record, Reggie Bush finished with 794 first-place votes, or roughly 85 percent, on 892 ballots cast in the 2005 voting.)

For all the turnover and injury issues Oregon had at wide receiver heading into the 2014 season, Mariota actually surpassed his passing numbers from a year ago (3,665 yards passing, 31 touchdowns, 9.5 yards per attempt) on 14 fewer passing attempts. Only Brandon Doughty of Western Kentucky has more touchdown passes this year. Mariota also threw two fewer interceptions than a year ago. 

The only major area in which Mariota's numbers went down were his rushing yards (715 to 669), but that's negligible. Furthermore, the emergence of freshman Royce Freeman at running back had taken some pressure off of Mariota to run the ball. His 342.5 total yards per game ranks fifth in major college football. 

Against Stanford, which has the second-best scoring defense in the country and the third-best defense in yards per play allowed (4.21), Mariota tallied 343 total yards at nine yards per play and four total touchdowns. 

Beyond the stats, the other thing that has helped Mariota has been the lack of a Heisman conversation. The first College Football Playoff has become the main talking point while the Heisman has moved to a back-burner discussion. That's been a good thing for Mariota, the presumed front-runner. But there's no denying he's had a year worthy of Heisman love.

Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver, Alabama

The Stats: 115 receptions, 1,656 receiving yards, 14.4 yards per reception, 127.4 yards per game, 14 touchdowns

The Skinny: As far as wide receivers go, no player changes the momentum of a game like Cooper. 

Cooper was hampered by injuries in 2013, but he showed why he's the most sought-after receiver this year with 1,656 yards, which is best in the country. Only Rashard Higgins of Colorado State has more touchdowns (17) and yards per game (149.1). But Cooper has pulled in nearly nine receptions per game (8.8). Only East Carolina's Justin Hardy has better numbers there (9.2 per game). 

The only time Cooper was shut down in 2014 was in a 14-13 win over Arkansas, in which he was again slowed by injuries. When healthy—or close to healthy—no one has been able to stop Cooper. He's a smooth route-runner and has game-changing speed. It's no wonder that B/R draft guru Matt Miller has Cooper as the No. 1 overall receiver in this year's draft class. 

And not that it will win him the Heisman, but Cooper was also part of perhaps the best moment of the year: Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin signaling touchdown before Cooper even catches the ball against Auburn in the Iron Bowl. 

Melvin Gordon, Running Back, Wisconsin

The Stats: 309 rushes, 2,336 rushing yards, 7.6 yards per rush, 26 rushing touchdowns, 179.7 yards per game

The Skinny: There may not be a player of the non-quarterback variety that is a bigger part of his team's offense than Gordon. The senior has accounted for 57 percent of Wisconsin's 314 rushing yards per game, which is best in the Big Ten. He's also responsible for 60 percent of the Badgers' rushing touchdowns. 

Gordon isn't your traditional, bruising Wisconsin running back like Heisman winner Ron Dayne. He's a big-play threat every time he touches the ball.

Twice this season, Gordon averaged at least 16.3 yards per carry: Against Nebraska, in which he also broke LaDainian Tomlinson's single-game FBS rushing record with 408 yards in three quarters, and against Bowling Green, in which he averaged 19.5 yards per carry. 

Of course, if Gordon's career day against the Huskers—which held up for one whole week before Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine rushed for 427 yards against Kansas, mind you—couldn't get him past Mariota in the Heisman race, what will?

Heading into the Big Ten title game against Ohio State, Gordon had the attention of Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer, who was more concerned about stopping the Heisman candidate than anything else. 

“That’s our No. 1 concern, is getting this guy to the ground,” Meyer said, via Tim Moody of The Lantern. “Then No. 2 is making sure that we are protecting our quarterback.” 

Ohio State did just that, too, limiting Gordon to 76 yards on 26 carries and no touchdowns. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.