Mariota wants victory in 2014

Marcus Mariota faced a tough decision following his sophomore year of college – or so it would seem.

The leader of the Oregon Ducks’ high-powered offense, Mariota had to decide between turning pro in an otherwise light draft class for quarterbacks following his sophomore season at the school or staying in college for at least one more year.

The Ducks’ signal-caller, who threw for 3,665 yards and 31 touchdowns a year ago, is now set to enter his junior season and was on hand for the annual Manning Passing Academy at Nicholls State earlier this month. According to Mariota, the decision to return to college for another year wasn’t a difficult one.

“I wanted to be with my family and after talking to a lot of my friends, it was an opportunity for me to come back, get my degree and enjoy college,” said Mariota. “Some of the best experiences that you have are going to happen in college. I wasn’t ready to run away from that just yet.”

Manning Passing Academy founder and former Ole Miss and New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning said having to choose between turning pro or staying in school for another year is always a difficult one, especially for young quarterbacks like Mariota.

“It’s always a tough thing, but it’s an individual thing and people have reasons,” Manning said. “He’s a great player at a great program. I always hope when somebody makes that decision, if they stay healthy it usually works out.”

Mariota could stand to gain a lot from another year at the collegiate level. Besides improving his stock in the 2015 NFL Draft, he could also give Oregon fans the one thing they’ve yet to celebrate: a National Championship.

Because of their strong standing in the Pac-12, a national following, and a reputation for being an explosive, high-octane offensive powerhouse, the Ducks are almost annually in contention for conference if not national titles and are never nationally forgotten.

Since the 2009 season, Oregon has been to four BCS games, winning the 2012 Rose Bowl, and then running away with another BCS victory against Kansas State a year later in the Fiesta Bowl, Mariota’s red-shirt freshmen season. By this point, their presence in big games is expected.

But thus far the crystal trophy has eluded the Ducks. Many had thought that of all the teams which posed the biggest threat to the SEC’s run of national championships in the BCS era, Oregon was at the top of the list.

Instead, the Ducks lost their best chance – to date – at the title in January, 2011, when they fell on a field goal as time expired to eventual national champion Auburn and Cam Newton.

The question now is: can the Ducks get over the hump under second-year coach Mark Helfrich that they couldn’t get over under Chip Kelly, and can Mariota be the one to get them there?

At least as far as the first part is concerned, Mariota isn’t completely sure.

“We’ve come a long way as a team,” he said. “We don’t really worry about that type of stuff. Our main focus is on taking it one game at a time. Obviously, the expectations are there and we want that (National Championship) as a team goal, but we don’t want to listen to the talk and the hype because that would just be a distraction. We just want to come out and continue to work at it and build a solid foundation.”

The one-game-at-a-time approach may sound boring and appear to be coach-speak, but Mariota says that’s because the Ducks have at times lost focus from game to game, choosing to look at the big picture instead of the week’s opponent.

That happened last season when Oregon was knocked off in a stunning 42-16 upset loss at Arizona. That loss was memorable not just because of the opponent, but in the manner in which Oregon was humbled.

The week of that game, two Ducks players said they would not be interested in playing another game in the Rose Bowl, the automatic BCS bid for Pac-12 schools. The loss to Arizona insured them no better than a third-place finish in the conference and a trip to the Alamo Bowl.

To avoid setbacks like that in 2014, Mariota says the Ducks can’t afford to get ahead of themselves.

“When we focus on one game at a time, that’s been successful for us,” said Mariota. “Coach Kelly brought it and now Coach Helfrich is using it as our stable. When we focus on it and take it one game at a time, we’re a team. We’re going to continue to have that mindset and just see where it takes us.”

Oregon is scheduled to open the 2014 season Saturday, Aug. 30 against South Dakota, an FCS opponent from the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The Ducks’ first conference game is scheduled for Sept. 30 at Washington State. Oregon will take on Pac-12 rival Stanford on Nov. 1 at home.

Marcus Mariota