NCAA Football

Two-Headed 2014 Heisman Race Isn’t Getting Attention It Deserves

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By @atylerbrett

Marcus Mariota Oregon Ducks and Utah Utes

Russell Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The Heisman Trophy is considered to be the highest individual honor in college football. The best to ever play the game have hoisted that bronze bust and joined one of the most elite fraternities in the world.

Over the last few years, we have seen some of the most exciting playmakers in the nation make a run at this honor and wow Heisman voters with their electric ability. But this year’s Heisman race has seemingly lost its luster with Bovada giving odds on just two players to win it and much of the country tuning out, which begs the question: Does the Heisman Trophy still matter?

In the latest Heisman odds released by Bovada, the only players they have listed are Marcus Mariota of the Oregon Ducks at 1/3 odds and Melvin Gordon of the Wisconsin Badgers at 2/1 odds. Both upperclassmen have had excellent 2014 seasons that definitely warrant the Heisman buzz that they have gotten. But the lack of other high-profile contenders out of traditional powers seems to have sapped any and all excitement out of this year’s chase to join the Heisman club.

Part of the problem could be the lack of a surprise contender that has risen up to capture the attention of Heisman voters. In recent years, we have seen players come on strong with phenomenal debut seasons (Cam Newton, Johnny Manziel, Jameis Winston) to run away with the Heisman Trophy. Both Mariota and Gordon have been dynamic and exciting, to be sure, but their elite level of play has come to be expected and they lack that “newness” that Heisman voters tend to relish. There are no fresh faces riding into the conversation to seize the momentum and take home the award.

Another issue affecting the level of interest could be the lack of a contender from the football-crazed Southern United States. The SEC has been home to a number of recent Heisman Trophy winners and they have someone in contention just about every single year.

But this season, their best candidate appeared to be Dak Prescott of the Mississippi State Bulldogs until his campaign hit a major speed bump in Tuscaloosa courtesy of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Other possible contenders out of college football’s premier conference have succumbed to injury or slumps or even an NCAA violation in the case of Todd Gurley (who is now also hurt) to kill any kind of Heisman buzz before it could get going.

Even the defending Heisman Trophy winner, Winston of the Florida State Seminoles, might have trouble garnering enough votes to get invited back as a candidate for the Heisman this season. While he is already a member of the club and gets a vote of his own, Winston’s numerous off-field issues have been a huge distraction for his chances to repeat and the somewhat lackluster stats he’s putting up (in comparison to last season’s dominant run) have short-circuited any type of Heisman hype for the FSU signal-caller. The lack of regional talent out of the SEC and ACC has really seemed to sap the buzz that the Heisman race usually garners around this time of the year.

But is that the fault of the players that are making a case to win the Heisman? Taken on their own, the seasons that Mariota and Gordon are having should be getting way more attention than they are.

Mariota leads the nation in passing efficiency and is one of the smoothest dual-threat playmakers in the country. He’s recorded 3,700 total yards this season as he averages 9.11 yards per play, both the third-best marks in the nation. His 47 total touchdowns so far this season set a Pac-12 record, blowing past the previous mark set by Matt Barkley of the USC Trojans, and he still has at least three games to play this season (possibly more if all goes well for Oregon in the College Football Playoff).

Gordon, meanwhile, is having arguably one of the best seasons ever for a running back. He’s averaging an FBS-best 191.73 yards per game this season and 25 rushing touchdowns as he has racked up 2,109 yards already through 11 games. With his performance against the Iowa Hawkeyes last week, he became the fastest player in history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. That came one week after he set the single-game rushing record against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, exploding for 408 yards on 25 carries, averaging a preposterous 16.32 yards per carry, and scoring four touchdowns.

He didn’t hold that record for very long, of course, as Samaje Perine of the Oklahoma Sooners broke off 427 yards on 34 carries against the Kansas Jayhawks last weekend, but Gordon’s performance shouldn’t be any less remarkable because of that.

Both players have put together Heisman-caliber campaigns this season but are being penalized, it seems, unfairly. Oregon has always seemed to have trouble getting Heisman campaigns rolling for their star players, having never had a Heisman winner in the program’s history and rarely even securing an invite to the presentation ceremony. Gordon, meanwhile, struggles against the dominance of the quarterback position in Heisman voting over the last decade and the perception that he’s simply a “system running back” whose numbers are inflated because of the traditional success of the Badgers’ running game.

There are plenty of reasons that media and Heisman voters are downplaying this year’s race but none of them are fair to the talent and the accomplishments of players like Mariota and Gordon. Even if the race comes down to just two players who may come from a school that is not traditionally in the Heisman mix or that play a non-quarterback position, the Heisman Trophy is an important and prestigious award that recognizes the very best of college football. While this season hasn’t provided the expected contenders for this honor, these are still worthy candidates battling for it that deserve the recognition that comes with their accomplishments.

Even if the award comes down to just Mariota and Gordon, there should be plenty of excitement surrounding the award ceremony this December. At the end of the day, these two phenomenal football players will go down as some of the best to ever play their positions and they deserve all the pomp and circumstance that comes from becoming a Heisman Trophy winner.

You can follow me on Twitter @ATylerBrett, on Facebook and on Google.

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