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Heisman Watch 2014: Dak Prescott, Nick Marshall Duel For Top Spot

Jeremy Shapiro |
October 9, 2014 | 3:12 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

One of the wildest weekends in college football history—featuring upsets of five of the top eight teams—shook up the Heisman Trophy leaderboard.

1. Dak Prescott, Quarterback, Junior, Mississippi State University: 1232 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 64-completion percentage, 455 rushing yards, 6 touchdowns

Prescott emerged onto the national scene this week, rising from relatively unknown to Heisman hopeful for third-ranked Mississippi State after its upset win over Texas A&M. Prescott accounted for five Bulldogs touchdowns last week and has shown an ability to shred defenses with his arm and legs. He faces a colossal matchup against second-ranked Auburn—an SEC showdown of two potential Heisman finalists.

2. Marcus Mariota, Quarterback, Junior, University of Oregon: 1411 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, 71-completion percentage, 3 rushing touchdowns

Mariota and the Ducks experienced their shocking annual loss last Thursday at the hands of a 21-point underdog Arizona Wildcats squad. Despite the Ducks’ first loss of the season, Mariota was solid against the Wildcats and still has yet to throw an interception this season. The dual-threat quarterback will look to rebound this week against UCLA in the Rose Bowl, while both squads are hungry to prove that last week’s losses were aberrations.

3. Nick Marshall, Quarterback, Senior, Auburn University: 755 passing yards, 8 touchdowns, 1 interception, 58-completion percentage, 392 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns

Marshall was dazzling last weekend in Auburn’s 41-7 beat down over LSU, passing for over 200 yards and two touchdowns while adding 119 rushing yards and another two scores on the ground. Marshall has proven to be a cool customer for the Tigers over the course of the last year and a half and will look to add to that on Saturday. If he repeats last weekend’s performance and the Tigers pull off the victory, expect Marshall to vault to the top of the Heisman leaderboard.

SEE MORE: Heisman Watch 2014: Time To Fear Ameer Abdullah

4. Everett Golson: Quarterback, Senior, University of Notre Dame: 1383 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 64-completion percentage, 4 rushing touchdowns

Golson has quietly put together a phenomenal season for the undefeated Fighting Irish. He struggled against the Stanford Cardinal and their vaunted defense, but still threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns en route to a 17-14 victory. A primetime matchup next week against number one-ranked Florida State looms large for Notre Dame’s playoff hopes and Golson’s Heisman candidacy.

5. Todd Gurley, Running Back, Junior, University of Georgia: 94 rushing attempts, 773 yards, 8 touchdowns, 8.2 yards per carry

Saturday’s 44-17 thrashing of Vanderbilt was just another day at the office for the elusive tailback. Gurley’s versatility was on display to the tune of 25 carries for 163 rushing yards, two touchdowns, and a 50-yard pass out the wildcat formation. Gurley has rushed for over 130 yards in four of the Bulldog’s five games—he received only six carries during the lone game that he failed to reach that mark. Gurley has been the Heisman frontrunner up to this point, but his indefinite suspension for a violation of NCAA rules drops him in this week’s rankings.

Reach Staff Reporter Jeremy Shapiro here



 

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