Marcus Mariota Wins 2014 Davey O'Brien Award

The Oregon Ducks' Marcus Mariota has been by far the best quarterback in college football in 2014. Now he has the hardware to back it up.

Mariota was named the 2014 Davey O'Brien Award winner Thursday night, besting Mississippi State's Dak Prescott and TCU's Trevone Boykin. 

SportsCenter had the report:

Mike Huguenin of NFL.com weighs in on the decision:

For much of the early season, Prescott looked as if he'd run away with most major awards. He spearheaded a surprise 9-0 start from a Mississippi State team that began the year unranked. Struggles with passing accuracy and losses to Alabama and rival Ole Miss took him out of the running, as he was not invited to Saturday's Heisman presentation.

TROY WAYRYNEN/Associated Press

Boykin may have been the nation's most underrated playmaker. Like Prescott, Boykin spurred a surprise run to national championship contention from a team few expected to compete. The junior threw for 3,714 yards and 30 touchdowns against seven interceptions, adding 642 yards and eight scores on the ground. There are a number of reasons the committee held TCU out of the College Football Playoff, but the Boykin-led offense was not one of them.

Stellar seasons from Prescott and Boykin aside, Mariota winning the Davey O'Brien Award was perhaps the night's biggest inevitability.

Whereas his competitors had historic seasons for their respective schools, Mariota had one of the single best campaigns in NCAA history. He threw for 3,783 yards and 38 touchdowns, with another 669 yards and 14 scores coming on the ground.

Those 52 touchdowns would be enough to guarantee Mariota his inevitable postseason awards sweep in most years. His historic efficiency, though, is what makes him so unique. Mariota threw just two interceptions in 372 attempts and lost three fumbles. For his career, Mariota has accounted for 129 total touchdowns and a paltry 23 turnovers.

"He’s so good. Somebody was talking to me the other day about how easy he makes it look sometimes. What he’s doing is really difficult. His decision-making, competitiveness, his command of the team is so outstanding," Oregon coach Mark Helfrich told Anne M. Peterson of The Associated Press, via The Salt Lake Tribune.

Widely expected to win the Heisman Trophy this weekend, Mariota would be the fifth straight Davey O'Brien Award winner to take home college football's top honor. The last Davey O'Brien winner to not take the Heisman was Colt McCoy in 2009. Seven of the last 10 Heismans have matched with the Davey O'Brien.

Mariota is the first quarterback in Oregon history to win the award. Assuming he takes home the bronze statue, he'll be the first to do that as well. And with a Jan. 1 playoff matchup against Florida State upcoming, it's very possible he'll leave Eugene with another first: a national championship.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.