Oh my, Marcus Mariota will never stop surprising us. I can’t even imagine what the rest of his career as a football player has to offer! It’s about time for an update on all the amazing things this young man is accomplishing, so here it goes.
To begin, Mariota was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year after leading Oregon in a successful regular season with an 11-1 record. He set Pac-12 records for total touchdowns in a season (48) and in a career (126). The last Duck to receive this award was Dennis Dixon in 2007.
Mariota was also named first-team all Pac-12 honors for the third time, making him not only the first Oregon Duck to be named first-team three times but the first quarterback in league history. Another day, another record demolished by Mariota, am I right? I’m not even finished yet.
The streak continues for Mariota of having at least one touchdown pass per game when he had four against Oregon State last weekend. He has yet to play a game in his collegiate career in which he has not thrown at least one touchdown pass (that’s 38 games), and he totals 99 career touchdown passes. Thirty times he has thrown two touchdown passes in a game, and he has thrown four in nine games. His 38-game touchdown streak is tied with Russell Wilson.
Mariota and Arizona QB Anu Solomon after the game earlier this season.
To continue, it seems that our beloved quarterback just recently joined a club that contains only six other quarterbacks. When Mariota reached the 2,000-yard rushing mark against Colorado a few weeks ago he became one of six quarterbacks in history to have rushed for more than 2,000 yards in their career while also passing for more than 9,000 yards. The other five quarterbacks in this historical club are Dan LeFevour, Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick, Tim Tebow and Cody Fajardo. Mariota and LeFevour are the only two to accomplish this milestone in only three seasons.
I’m still not done. Super Mariota has been recognized and named a finalist for two very prestigious national awards in college football. He is one of three finalist for the Maxwell Football Club’s National Player of the Year award and is one of three finalists for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. I can barely fathom all the information I am taking in right now; is there no end to the amazing-ness of Mariota?
As we head into the rematch against Arizona tomorrow for the Pac-12 Championship title and the opportunity for a berth in the first ever College Football Playoff, I can only imagine what more Mariota will do and what other records he will break — if there are even any left to be broken!
Top Photo by Kevin Cline
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McKalie Bellew just moved to Oregon from Arizona. She is a sophomore at Lane Community College and moved here to pursue her dream of studying Sports Journalism and Broadcasting at the University of Oregon. Her passion for sports is admirable and her determination and hunger for success in the sports field is fascinating; if you ever have the chance to talk to McKalie face-to-face about sports, you’ll know how much she loves these games just by the way her eyes light up during the conversation. When unable to attend Ducks home games you can find her in front of a television on the edge of her seat, cheering her crazed-fan-head off. McKalie appreciates your feedback and constructive-criticism to help her become a better writer and reporter.