Heisman Watch: Oregon's Marcus Mariota bolts ahead of pack

We noted last week that Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota would need to exorcise the demons at Stanford in order to take the lead in the Heisman race.

Well, he did just that.

He was excellent in a 45-16 win against the Cardinal and has earned our top spot in the Heisman poll this week. However, with a month left, nothing is certain. Every player on our list has an opportunity to have a Heisman moment that could catapult him into college football lore.

And even Mariota has some tricky games to conquer before he’s home free.

Here’s a look at Dr. Saturday’s Heisman Poll heading into Week 11:

Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon: Mariota finally got over the Stanford hump with 258 yards and two passing touchdowns. He also rushed for 85 yards and two more scores. He did throw an interception, but he also faced one of the nation’s top passing defenses. Thanks to Mariota, the Ducks are first in the nation in passing efficiency. However, this week will be a tough challenge against a stingy Utah defense that has at least one interception in each of its last six games. If Mariota can get over this hurdle, he might create a stranglehold on the award.

Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin: There are some things we’ve come to count on in college football this year: criticism of the Tallahassee Police, Les Miles quotables, and Melvin Gordon rushing for 100 yards a game. He posted his sixth straight 100-yard game with 128 yards and two scores against Rutgers. He has at least two touchdowns in each of his past three games, and the trend should continue this week against Purdue, which is allowing 174.3 rushing yards per game. Gordon is second in rushing nationally this season with 162 yards per game.

Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State: We’ve been forgiving toward Dak Prescott because of his tough competition, but it’s been his play against weaker teams that has him slipping in the Heisman race. Prescott threw two more interceptions against Arkansas and nearly helped the Razorbacks pull off the upset. He now has five interceptions in his last three games after having just two the five games prior. There’s still time to climb back to the top of the Heisman heap, but it probably won’t be this weekend against Tennessee-Martin.

Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU: If Trevone Boykin is going to make a serious push for the Heisman, it’s going to have to come in this week’s game against Kansas State. Boykin is coming off an average game against West Virginia, but the weather was terrible and West Virginia has made several quarterbacks look pretty awful this season. Boykin already has some fantastic moments this year, but Kansas State is the last tough opponent for the Horned Frogs, so leading them to a strong victory will be key in getting an invite to New York.

Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama: There are few teams playing better than Alabama in the past few weeks, and there are few receivers who are playing as well as Amari Cooper. In his past two games (the Tide is coming off a bye this week), Cooper has amassed 17 catches for 364 yards and four touchdowns. Alabama is about to enter a gauntlet of ranked teams to finish out the season. This weekend’s opponent, LSU, has allowed an average of just 158.4 passing yards this season and it leads the country in passing-efficiency defense.