2014 Heisman Trophy Race: Finalists and Predictions for Prestigious Award
There aren't a ton of serious contenders for this year's Heisman Trophy, so it was refreshing to see only three players invited to New York for the ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 13.
It always sucks to see players with a snowball's chance in hell to win the award invited just for the sake of having a pre-announcement highlight package run in their honor.
This year, all three candidates are worthy of nomination, and there's a case to be made for each of them. On the flip side, there's also details that could factor into each not winning the award.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Melvin Gordon
ESPN.com's Brian Bennett reported that the Wisconsin Badgers star will enter the 2015 NFL draft. This comes as no surprise considering the season Gordon had for the Badgers. His 2,336 rushing yards are a single-season Big Ten record, and his 4,664 career yards rank third all time in Badgers history behind Ron Dayne and Montee Ball.
In 2014, Gordon averaged a whopping 179.7 yards per game on the ground. To put that in the proper perspective, that's more than 78 other FBS schools.
Heisman Moment
Though the record was broken a week later by the Oklahoma Sooners' Samaje Perine, Gordon's 408 yards against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Nov. 15 was without a doubt one of the most impressive individual performances of the season.
Perine may have run for more yards when he racked up 427 on Nov. 22 against the Kansas Jayhawks, but Gordon's game stands out more.
The Jayhawks run defense is notoriously horrible. The team ranked 106th in the nation against the run. The Cornhuskers rank 80th, which is obviously not great, but if you subtract Gordon's performance, Nebraska would be ranked 51st, just behind the Oregon Ducks.
Furthermore, Gordon put up those numbers while going head-to-head with friend and fellow first-round prospect Ameer Abdullah. In a high-profile matchup, Gordon was at his best.
The Case Against Gordon
The Big Ten title game did not boost Gordon's Heisman hopes.
In the biggest game of the season for the Badgers, Gordon and the Wisconsin offense were shut down. The Ohio State Buckeyes blanked Wisconsin 59-0 and held Gordon to his second-lowest rushing total of the season: just 76 yards on 26 carries.
That's a tough stat line for a Heisman candidate in a conference championship game.
With a big performance and a win against the Buckeyes, Gordon's chances to win the Heisman might be even higher.
Amari Cooper
Simply being the best player in the country should count for something. We could talk about awards, of which Cooper has already captured the Fred Biletnikoff Award for the nation's top receiver, and we could talk stats. Cooper has those too. In 2014, he had 115 receptions, 1,656 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Cooper caught at least 10 passes in five games. He eclipsed 100 yards seven times and 200 yards on three occasions.
Beyond the awards and the numbers, Cooper was the most stable threat for an inexperienced quarterback. Blake Sims' elusiveness has been an asset to the Alabama Crimson Tide offense, but 'Bama fans should shudder at the thought of what the 2014 season would've looked like without their stud receiver.
Heisman Moment
The Iron Bowl is a game where legends are made. Cooper may not have needed this year's performance to cement his legendary status, but just in case, he was an absolute beast against the Tide's biggest rival.
Cooper caught 13 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns against the Auburn Tigers. All three stats tied career highs for Cooper. He came up huge with the Tide facing their last significant impediment before qualifying for the College Football Playoff.
The Case Against Cooper
Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus expresses his desire to see Cooper win, but he doesn't have much faith in it happening:
To be honest, Cooper did everything within his power to hoist that trophy. The biggest thing that could keep him from winning is his position. The Heisman Trophy has largely been a quarterback award, with a few running backs sprinkled in.
Twelve of the last 13 winners have been signal-callers. The last wide receiver to win the award was the Michigan Wolverines' Desmond Howard back in 1991. Howard was also dynamic in the return game, and that helped to boost his case. Cooper doesn't have that layer, and he's going up against a pretty good quarterback candidate.
Marcus Mariota
If you were to say the word "leader" in association with the 2014 college football season, most would picture the Oregon Ducks' quarterback.
Mariota has led by example in regards to competitiveness, excellence of play and disposition. It's hard to ask for anything more. By doing a simple Twitter search for "Mariota leader," here's two examples of tweets that came up as a result:
At this point, people are jumping on the bandwagon with this concept, but there also has to be something to the theme when everyone within and outside of an organization sees the same qualities.
Mariota's appeal isn't all intangible.
He did throw for 3,783 yards, 38 touchdown passes and just two interceptions in 372 pass attempts. Mariota ran for another 14 scores as well. Because of the year he's had, it's a challenge picking one Heisman moment, but here's my best shot.
Heisman Moment
On Sept. 20, the Ducks went to Pullman, Washington, to take on the high-powered Washington State Cougars. Connor Halliday and Co. were clicking on all cylinders. The Cougars pushed the Ducks for four quarters before Oregon prevailed 38-31.
Mariota never blinked in a road game that some of his teammates may have overlooked heading into a bye week. He completed 21 of 25 passes for 329 yards and five touchdown passes. It was an almost perfect performance in a close game in which Mariota's team needed him to be big.
The Case Against Mariota
Breaking biases is a thing for people these days, as well it should be. Because of the long history of quarterbacks dominating the award, there could be voters of a mindset similar to that of Palazzolo.
There's also a valid argument that Cooper is indeed the nation's best player. After all, that's who the award is supposed to go to. If you asked people who the best player in college football is, and didn't use the word Heisman, you might get more to references Cooper than Mariota.
Prediction
Like Palazzolo, I'm of the belief that Cooper should win the Heisman. However, also like the Pro Football Focus guru, I don't think he will.
Mariota has been the face of the hype all year long, and to be honest, he's never faltered. Essentially, he's been like a preseason No. 1 team in the old BCS system who never lost a game and thus remained No. 1.
While Mariota and the Ducks did lose to the Arizona Wildcats on Oct. 2, he still played pretty well in that game, and his case for the Heisman didn't take a hit. Call it quarterback bias, or anything else, but come Saturday, we'll be calling Mariota the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner.
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