Ranking the most dominant Heisman campaigns of the last 25 years

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 13: Marcus Mariota, quarterback for the University of Oregon Ducks, hoist the trophy after being named the 80th Heisman Memorial Trophy Award winner during the 2014 Heisman Trophy Presentation at the Best Buy Theater on December 13, 2014 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: Photographer approval needed for all Commercial License requests. (Photo by Kelly Kline/Getty Images for The Heisman) /

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NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 13: Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota speaks to the media during a press conference after the 2014 Heisman Trophy presentation at the New York Marriott Marquis on December 13, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /

1. Marcus Mariota

The most dominant Heisman run of the past 25 belongs to Mariota, who controlled the 2014 race from start to finish while putting up some unbelievable numbers.

A native of Honolulu, Mariota ranked as just a three-star prospect coming out of high school and only received scholarship offers from Memphis and Oregon. Mariota joined the Ducks ahead of the 2011 season, and took over the starting quarterback role one year later after taking a redshirt behind Darron Thomas.

Oregon went a combined 23-3 during Mariota’s first two years under center, as he piled up ultra-efficient numbers as one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in college football. Rather than declare for the NFL Draft, Mariota chose to return to Oregon for the 2014 season, and piled up over 5,000 total yards with 58 touchdowns to lead the Ducks to the National Championship Game.

Even with Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon racking up 2,587 rushing yards in a record-setting campaign, Mariota was in control of the Heisman Trophy race from the opening week of the 2014 season. Mariota received nearly 91 percent of possible points, the third highest-mark in Heisman voting history, and garnered 788 of 890 first-place votes to more than double Gordon’s total.

The 2014 Heisman Trophy race felt like a foregone conclusion from the opening week of the season, giving Mariota the most dominant Heisman campaign in recent memory.

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