Heisman Race 2014: Predictions for Award's Top Candidates

The best players in the nation have put their skills on display, and now it's up to the voters to decide who will lift the 2014 Heisman Trophy. 

Florida State's Jameis Winston posted an incredible season in 2013 to take home the honors, but the reigning champion isn't among the group of three finalists heading to New York. In fact, there's only one quarterback among the field to help make it five straight years that a QB has hoisted the Heisman—but his chances are awfully good.

Heisman Trophy released the finalists on Twitter:

It also marks a first for the history of the award, as Heisman.com's Chris Huston uncovered:

You never know just how it will all shake out until Saturday night's presentation. But with the individual players' season performances in consideration, it's becoming more and more clear what order the finalists will end up.

Let's predict the final order of finish for the three Heisman finalists.

Predicted Heisman Trophy Finish

3. Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama

USA TODAY Sports

Even set for a third-place Heisman Trophy finish, Amari Cooper's 2014 season should go down as one of the best from an SEC wideout in college football history.

The junior won Alabama's first ever Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top wideout, also marking just the second time an SEC receiver has ever won the prestigious award. With more than a year of eligibility left, Cooper ranks second in SEC career receiving yards.

As he's known to do, head coach Nick Saban saw Cooper's blue-chip potential a long time ago, per TideSports.com's D.C. Reeves:

"

The thing that was so impressive about Amari Cooper was when he came to our summer camp before his senior year, the guy was I think maybe—and we've had some good receivers that have been in our camps through the years—the most impressive, to me, in terms of his ability, his ability to change direction and get out of a break, the quickness, the acceleration of speed, good hands, hard worker. I walked away from that camp saying that this guy might be the best receiver we've ever had in our camps, and we've had some really good ones.

"

Cooper has been shredding the competition everywhere he's been, leaving Bleacher Report's Matt Miller to peg him as the fourth-best player in the 2015 NFL draft class. With his blend of breakaway speed, athleticism and size, few receivers in recent years have been as complete exiting college.

The best Alabama wideout ever won't end his career with a Heisman Trophy, but he has left his mark on college football in about every way possible. He'll continue to do so at the next level.

2. Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

If it weren't for an unstoppable season from the man in front of him, Melvin Gordon would have done more than enough to become the first running back to win the Heisman in five years. 

The junior out of Wisconsin comfortably leads the FCS with 2,336 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns total, breaking a single-game rushing record that happened to be broken the week after. He would need almost 300 rushing yards to break Barry Sanders' single-season record in the Outback Bowl against Auburn.

But when you consider how close he's going to finish to a record that so many Heisman Trophy-winning running backs didn't touch, it just puts into further perspective his greatness. 

He could have made a serious push to win the award with a monster game against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game but struggled with 76 yards on 26 carries. A bigger performance in that game could have boosted him, as ESPN College Football noted:

But considering he got it done against everybody else when a team packed the box like Ohio State did, Gordon has undoubtedly done enough to make a serious case as the Heisman runner-up.

1. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon

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The Heisman Trophy presentation on ESPN could save the viewing public about an hour of time by just naming Mariota the winner the moment that the broadcast begins. But even though it will be announced at the last moment possible, there's no doubting the end result.

From start to finish, nobody can contend with the Oregon quarterback. He has every box checked off—the gaudy stats, the team-on-my-back leadership and a place as one of the national title contenders entering the postseason.

He also added the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's top quarterback, which has been the writing on the wall for the Heisman winner of late, per ESPN Stats and Information:

Mariota's case started to suffer with an early loss to Arizona at home but has since bounced back in a massive way. The Ducks have bounced back from that defeat to score 40 points in every game, including a 51-13 drubbing of the Wildcats in a Pac-12 title-game rematch. 

Beating Arizona in Santa Clara, California, was the lone requirement on Mariota's Heisman checklist, and he did so in resounding fashion while Gordon struggled. 

It remains to be seen whether Mariota can get Oregon its first national championship, but he'll have no problem getting the Ducks their first Heisman Trophy come Saturday night.