Heisman finalists are Mariota, Cooper, Gordon

NEW YORK - The Heisman Trophy finalists would make one heck of an offense.

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, Alabama receiver Amari Cooper and record-breaking Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon are set to make the trip to New York for the Heisman presentation after the finalists were announced Monday.

Mariota is considered the clear front-runner to win the 80th Heisman on Saturday night in New York. He would become the first Oregon player to earn college football's most famous player of the year trophy.

Mariota and the second-seeded Ducks will face Florida State and last year's Heisman winner, Jameis Winston, at the Rose Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Jan. 1.

Cooper helped Alabama earn the top seed in the playoff. The Crimson Tide plays Ohio State at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

Winston becomes the seventh player since 2003 to take a shot at a Heisman repeat and come up short. Ohio State's Archie Griffin is the only player to win two Heismans.

Finalists are determined by percentage of votes received from 929 media members and former winners.

Mariota didn't even break the top 10 in the Heisman voting last season, but entered 2014 as one of the preseason favorites.

He delivered a spectacular season in his third year as the Ducks' starter. He is the nation's top-rated passer (186.3) and has thrown for 3,783 yards and 38 touchdowns with just two interceptions. He also has run for 669 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Pac-12 champions.

He is Oregon's third finalist, joining quarterback Joey Harrington (2001) and running back LaMichael James (2010).

Gordon leads the nation with 2,336 yards rushing and 179.7 yards per game. Gordon broke the single-game FBS rushing record with 408 yards against Nebraska, a record that only stood for a week. He needs another huge game in the Outback Bowl against Auburn to break Barry Sanders' single-season record of 2,628, set in his Heisman winning season of 1988 with Oklahoma State.

He is the fourth Wisconsin running back to be a finalist. The Badgers have had two Heisman winners: Alan Ameche (1954) and Ron Dayne (1999).

Cooper set a Southeastern Conference record with 115 catches for 1,656 yards and 14 touchdowns for the top-ranked Crimson Tide.

He is the fourth Alabama finalist since Mark Ingram became the Tide's first winner in 2009.

Heisman voters submit a ballot with their top three selections. Mariota, Gordon and Cooper emerged as such strong candidates late in the season the rest of the field drifted away.

The last time voters picked only three Heisman finalists was 2012, when Johnny Manziel won in a landslide vote against Kansas State's Collin Klein and Notre Dame's Manti Te'o.

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