Marcus Mariota used every square inch of himself to help lead the Oregon Ducks over Arizona State. (AP) |
We could probably use Marcus Mariota's entire body for this week's Ultimate Player, but that wouldn't be fair to Matt Barkley and Robert Woods, whose arm and hands, respectively, deserve some honor.
Here's a look at what (or who?) we would build from Week 8:
Brain: Arizona QB Matt Scott -- Scott has been excellent for much of the season during his one-year swan song with Rich Rodriguez. He's already set records. But on Saturday, Scott was downright masterful, throwing for four touchdowns, rushing for another and lifting the Wildcats to the 52-17 win over Washington.
Eyes: Stanford LB Chase Thomas -- Thomas was all over the field for the Cardinal in a 21-7 win over Cal, but mostly he was in the Bears' backfield. He was looking up the field for much of the game, picking up four tackles for loss, and the Stanford defense held Cal to just three rushing yards.
Heart: Oregon QB Marcus Mariota -- Where do you put a guy like Mariota on this list, after a game in which he threw, ran and caught touchdowns? Right at the heart, exactly where Mariota is in the Oregon offense. Mariota barely needed to use his arm as the Ducks built a 43-7 lead, but he more than made up for that with his feet, rushing for 135 yards and a score.
Arm: USC QB Matt Barkley -- Earlier this year, we expected Barkley's arm to be locked into place, kind of like Will Smith's bionic arm in I, Robot. Wait, you didn't see that? OK, well it's this movie where Will Smith has a bionic arm, and if he played quarterback instead of fighting robots, he probably would've been about as good as Barkley was against Colorado. That's pretty good, too -- a Pac-12-record 19 of 20 passing for 298 yards and six touchdowns.
Hands: USC WR Robert Woods -- Woods has been relatively quiet this year after a monster sophomore season. He returned to his monster ways on Saturday, and he bore a striking resemblance to Godzilla. He simply smashed all over Colorado, catching a Pac-12-record four touchdowns, giving him nine on the year. Spare Parts: USC WR Marqise Lee -- We can't just forget about Lee, who had six catches for 103 yards against the Buffaloes.
Legs: Stanford RB Stepfan Taylor -- Taylor chugged, chugged, chugged his way to 189 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinal. It took 28 carries, and that's why Taylor is the legs and not the feet. He didn't dance so much as bulldoze. Taylor helped Stanford pick up 23 first downs, including 11 on the ground.
Feet: Oregon RB Kenjon Barner -- Barner raced for 143 yards on just 16 carries, and you have to imagine he'd be higher on the Heisman watch if he had more touches. But with De'Anthony Thomas, Byron Marshall and, yes, Mariota, in the backfield, what can you do? Apparently gain almost nine yards a carry. Spare Parts: Stanford TE Zach Ertz -- Tight ends aren't supposed to be nifty and nimble, but Ertz gained 134 yards on six receptions, more than 23 yards per catch, against the Bears.
For all the Pac-12 news you can handle, follow @CBSSportsPac12, @JohnBreech, and @TheCoolSub on Twitter.