Oregon's Marcus Mariota wins Heisman Trophy

It's official: Oregon's Marcus Mariota is the best player in the nation. The Ducks quarterback was awarded the Heisman Trophy in New York City on Saturday, becoming the 80th player to win the prestigious award. 

In an announcement that can only be described as unsurprising, the junior signal-caller became the first Oregon player to win college football's top honor following a season where he threw for 3,783 yards, 38 touchdowns and two interceptions. Mariota led his team to a 12-1 record, a Pac-12 Championship and a berth in the inaugural College Football Playoff.  

On Thursday, Mariota also won the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Davey O'Brien Award for the nation's best quarterback, and the prestigious Maxwell Award, given to college football's best player.

Related: VIDEOS: 5 of Marcus Mariota's best plays of the season

But while Mariota had been expected to walk away with the nation's top honor since the finalists were announced, some feel Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon was snubbed after one of the greatest individual seasons for a running back in college football history.

In 2014, Gordon, the Doak Walker Award winner, led the nation in rushing yards (2,336) and touchdowns (26) and was the fastest player in FBS history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

Gordon also became the first running back in over a decade to break LaDanian Tomlinson's record for rushing yards in a game after he rushed for 408 yards in three quarters against Nebraska on Nov. 11. That record was broken a week later when Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine rushed for 427 yards against Kansas. 

Unfortunately for Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper, he was fighting an uphill battle from the get-go. 

Despite leading college football in catches (115) and receiving yards (1,656), only two wide receivers  - Notre Dame's Tim Brown and Michigan's Desmond Howard - have gone on to win the prestigious award since its inception, making the Biletnikoff Award winner an unlikely Heisman recipient.