There are Heisman Trophy favorites and there is Marcus Mariota.
An upset would be anything other than a runaway. Just ask the dynamic Oregon quarterback's competition.
"Quarterbacks have such a huge responsibility out on the field. Marcus deserves the trophy," Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper said on Friday at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan on the eve of the Heisman announcement. "I haven't watched him play, but he has thrown only two interceptions. That's crazy."
Cooper, an explosive 6-foot-1 receiver who led the nation in receptions (115) and receiving yards (1,565), would have a legitimate shot any other year after leading the Crimson Tide to the inaugural playoff.
A projected top-five NFL draft pick, Cooper is the first receiver since Pittsburgh's Larry Fitzgerald in 2003 to reach New York City as a Heisman finalist. If Cooper went home with the prestigious award, he would be the first wideout since Michigan's Desmond Howard in 1991 to claim college sports' most prestigious honor.
"It means a lot to me, it means the world to me," Cooper said. "I definitely feel honored to be here."
When Cooper committed to Alabama over Miami, Ohio State and Florida State out of high school, many people close to him questioned the decision. Why would a receiver chose Alabama, the school known for dominant defense and a punishing ground game?
Cooper wanted to win.
"Although Alabama ran the ball a lot, I felt like if they had a great weapon to throw the ball to, they would definitely use it," he said. "Most people disagreed with me, they thought I should go to a school that threw the ball to more than they ran the ball. But I wanted to be a winner, that was the most important thing to me.
"The people who disagreed with me, they were focused on my stats, what my stats would like. I was more focused on winning. I think I made a pretty good decision."
Cooper blossomed this season, doubling his respectable numbers from a year ago and emerging as arguably the nation's most dominant aerial threat, a touchdown waiting to happen.
The biggest difference for Cooper? Lane Kiffin, the Crimson Tide's controversial offensive coordinator. Kiffin convinced Alabama head coach Nick Saban to open up the offense, to take advantage of having a game-breaker in Cooper.
"He's a genius as a coach," Cooper said of Kiffin. "He deserves a lot of credit. He likes to throw the ball and not only does he likes to throw the ball, he comes up with really good schemes to get players open and get his playmakers in space.
"I was really happy when he got hired because I saw what he did with Marquise Lee and Robert Woods at USC. Both of those guys had 100 catches. I was confident I would have a good year with him."
Good is putting it mildly. Special would be more appropriate. That adjective also fits Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon, the other finalist. Gordon posted the fourth most regular-season rushing yards (2,336) in college football history this year.
Yet Saturday night, both Gordon and Cooper are expected to be props, part of the Mariota background. And Cooper knows it.
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