College football's most prestigious individual award will be given out this weekend, as the Heisman Trophy will go to either Oregon's Marcus Mariota, Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon or Alabama's Amari Cooper. The ceremony will take place Saturday, December 13 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and WatchESPN.
Mariota is considered the overwhelming favorite. The only quarterback of the group, the junior led Oregon to a place in the inaugural College Football Playoff with an incredible 38:2 touchdown to interception ratio. He completed 68.3 percent of his passes this season, averaging 10.2 yards per attempt and totaling 4,478 yards of offense with 53 touchdowns. History is on Mariota's side, as well: 13 of the last 14 Heisman winners have been quarterbacks.
Gordon is the only Heisman finalist not on a playoff team, but his numbers speak for themselves. The running back set an FBS record against Nebraska when he ran for 408 yards on just 25 carries (the yardage record was broken a week later by Oklahoma's Samaje Perine). He finished the season averaging 7.6 yards per carry, with 2,336 yards and 25 touchdowns -- both tops on the national leaderboard.
Only two wide receivers (Notre Dame's Tim Brown and Michigan's Desmond Howard) have ever won the Heisman, but Cooper has a case for being the third. Cooper led the nation in receptions (115) and receiving yards (1,656), recording 14 touchdowns for the top-seeded Tide. His Iron Bowl performance set him apart, however. The junior shredded Auburn's secondary for 224 yards and three touchdowns -- his third 200-yard performance of the year -- leading Alabama to a 55-44 win.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, December 13
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV channel: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN