Marcus Mariota Still Worthy Of Top NFL Draft Pick
By Erik Lambert
Oct 2, 2014; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) looks to the fans before the game against the Arizona Wildcats at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
It’s easy to rush to judgment after watching Oregon see their national title hopes get crushed, but it shouldn’t impact the NFL draft stock of Marcus Mariota.
Oregon looked beatable before they even played Arizona
The thing to remember is that while Oregon is still one of the clear powerhouses in the PAC-12 conference, they looked far from a dominant team. They fell behind early against Michigan State before coming back late and then were pushed to the wire by a tenacious and scrappy Washington State team. So anybody who thought they were shoe-ins for the national championship playoffs weren’t reading the signs. Arizona beat what was probably a better Ducks team last year and proved it yet again by doing the exact same thing as a year ago. They ran the ball right down Oregon’s throat. By the end of the game they had piled up over 200 yards on the ground and dominated time of possession.
Mariota played well enough to win
The next key to remember is that Marcus Mariota was not the reason they lost the game. Despite lingering injuries as a result of the seven sacks he took a week earlier against Washington State, the junior quarterback still accounted for over 300 of offense and three touchdowns. He actually tied the game with just over eight minutes left but a terrible mistake by the defense, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty kept the ball in the hands of the Wildcats who drove for the go-ahead touchdown. On the next possession the pass protection didn’t give Mariota a chance. He was sacked and stripped of the ball. Arizona then ran out of the clock. It was the first turnover he’d allowed all season.
Inevitably people will question moving forward whether Marcus Mariota truly deserves the distinction of being the #1 pick in the NFL draft. If so, they can’t use the Arizona tape as evidence because he did everything necessary to win. His team just let him down.