Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota and Wisconsin tailback Melvin Gordon, generally considered the top two Heisman contenders, are among the five finalists for the Walter Camp Award, given annually to the nation's top player.
The other finalists are TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper and Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright. The winner will be announced Dec. 11; FBS coaches and sports information directors vote on the award.
Last season's winner, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, was a semifinalist this year.
Mariota has thrown for 3,470 yards and 36 touchdowns, and also has rushed for 636 yards and 11 scores. He also has thrown at least two TD passes in every contest, at least three seven times and at least four three times. He is tied for second nationally in TD passes, leads the nation in quarterback rating and is fifth in total offense at 342.2 yards per game.
Gordon leads the nation in rushing at 2,260 yards, and is on a pace to set the FBS single-season rushing record. He has had 11 100-yard games, including five 200-yard outings, highlighted by a 408-yard effort against Nebraska. He leads the nation with 26 rushing touchdowns and has had nine games with at least two TDs. He has run for more yards by himself than 84 teams, and he has more rushing TDs than 85 teams.
Boykin has thrown for 3,254 yards and 26 TDs and has an additional 598 yards and eight scores on the ground. He is fourth nationally in total offense at 350.2 yards per game.
Cooper is second in the nation with 1,573 receiving yards and third in the nation with 103 receptions. He has had seven 100-yard games and three 200-yard games this season; he also has had four games with at least two TD receptions and 10 contests with at least eight catches.
Wright (whose given first name is Phillip) leads the nation with 27 tackles for loss and six forced fumbles, and is third with 14 sacks; he has had four games with multiple sacks. He also has 139 tackles, which ranks tied for fifth nationally.
While the Camp and Heisman go to the player of the year, the winners rarely have matched up this century. This century, the winners have been different seven times. For instance, in 2012, the Camp winner was Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, while the Heisman winner was Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel. In 2011, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck won the Camp and Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III won the Heisman. Other recent seasons in which the Camp and Heisman winners differed were 2009, '08, '07, '03, '02 and '00.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
