Top Eight Plays of Marcus Mariota's Legendary Oregon Ducks Career

With eight days to go until the 2021 Oregon football season, we take a look at the best plays from the best player to wear No. 8 for the Ducks.

Few quarterbacks in the history of college football have a more electric highlight reel than Oregon legend Marcus Mariota. The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner owns just about every Oregon record a quarterback can hold and has a facility on campus dedicated to him. His legacy stands alone in Eugene.

The Ducks' season-opener against Fresno State is just eight days away, and what better way to build some excitement for the season than to break down the eight best plays from the greatest quarterback to ever don a Ducks uniform.

8. 57-Yard TD Run vs. WSU - Oct. 19, 2013

Shoutout to Johnny Mundt for the key block that sealed the deal for Mariota to ride untouched to the end zone. The pink helmet and cleats combo is a beaut, and so was the performance by the sophomore quarterback, who went 23-of-32 for 327 yards and two passing touchdowns. He also ran for 67 yards and this score in the 62-38 win over the Cougars for the No. 2-ranked Ducks.

7. Dribbling TD Run vs. UCLA - Oct. 11, 2014

With the number of days left til Oregon Football, I had to get in a Mariota highlight.

Dribble TD. pic.twitter.com/uIM0dHGa8N

— ☘️LegalizeQuack☘️ (@Legalize_Quack) August 27, 2021

My favorite part of this highlight is how UCLA linebacker Kenny Young completely bit on the read option and expressed his frustration mid-play. Sure, this play was probably one bad bounce from being a turnover, but Mariota's composure and concentration while picking up speed is impressive. Also, the white uniforms in the Southern California sun were absolutely GLOWING in this game.

6. Scramble and Bullet to Darren Carrington in 2014 Pac-12 Championship Game vs. Arizona - Dec. 5, 2014

Mariota wasn't under pressure too often in the 2014 season, but he sure made a lot of plays when he was. Arizona's defense that year was one of the scariest in the conference, and just when the Wildcats thought they made a play down three scores, Mariota pulled out some trickery to squeeze through, survived nearly being bowled over by Tyrell Crosby, and delivered a strike to Carrington for the first down.

5. The Heisman Hurdle vs. Oregon State - Nov. 29, 2014

This photograph should be in the Louvre. Shoutout to Chris Pietsch from the Register-Guard for capturing that moment. The win against arch-rival Oregon State in Corvallis is one of the sweetest in recent memory for the Ducks, dominating the Beavers 47-19. This moment essentially sealed that the Heisman Trophy would have Mariota's name on it.

4. Mid-Air Somersault Into End Zone for TD vs. Wyoming - Sept. 13, 2014

Hearing the fans react to this ridiculous touchdown makes it that much better. Mariota had a ton of long runs for touchdowns in his career — he ran for 29 touchdowns in his career — but this one is arguably his most impressive and definitely his most athletic.

The best part of this play is that it was a broken play. Mariota said after the game that he was looking for something to the left side, and then was going to find Keanon Lowe once on the move, but Lowe started to block so Mariota improvised and turned nothing into something. Mariota also said after the game that Mark Helfrich told him to never do that again.

3. Rose Bowl TD Pass to Darren Carrington vs. Florida State - Jan. 1, 2015

There could be a number of plays from Mariota's performance in the Ducks' 59-20 mashing of Florida State in the first-ever CFP semifinal game, but this one seemed to be the pivotal one. Many forget that this game was very close in the first two and a half quarters, but this touchdown to Carrington began the unraveling of the Florida State Seminoles. 

The quick strike from Mariota was perfectly placed, as it was caught by Carrington in stride and in a place where he could cut past the defender and run free to the end zone.

2. Game-Winning TD Pass to Josh Huff to Avoid Upset vs. Oregon State - Nov. 29, 2013

Few Ducks games came down to the wire during the Mariota era, but the Beavers were going toe-to-toe with them in the 2013 regular-season finale. This TD had Autzen absolutely ROCKING, and it was the third connection in the end zone from Mariota to Josh Huff. Huff had nine grabs for 186 yards and three touchdowns to break the single-season Ducks record for receiving yards (which has since been broken by Dillon Mitchell), and tie the single-season record for receiving TDs.

1. Miraculous Shovel Pass to Royce Freeman vs. Michigan State - Sept. 6, 2014

This escape and shovel pass from Marcus Mariota to @rolls_royce28 for @oregonfootball is still insane 😳 pic.twitter.com/ldV5OqnAHy

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) March 26, 2020

This is the kind of play that leaves opposing coaches kicking and screaming. Three different Michigan State Spartans had their hands on Mariota, who nearly stumbled on a third-and-long play. The heads-up play kept the hopes alive for the Ducks and ignited their furious comeback. The Ducks outscored the Spartans 28-0 after this play to stun the No. 6 team in the country 46-27. The win was a crucial one on the Ducks' resumé to get into the College Football Playoff, as well as a big-time highlight for Mariota's Heisman bid.

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