ARLINGTON, Texas – Marcus Mariota slowly walked into the Oregon locker room wearing a traditional Hawaiian lei around his neck that was as decorated as his career – his parents had given one to him after their 42-20 loss to Ohio State in the inaugural College Football Playoff title game at AT&T Stadium – trying to hold back the emotions that his teammates were also surely fighting.
“I love those guys, it’s why you play the game,” Mariota said. “The relationships that I’ve built here will last a lifetime and these guys are truly special. I was part of a special team. Truly blessed for it, grateful.”
As media members quickly rushed over, squeezing tight around the Heisman winner for what may be his last availability as Oregon’s quarterback, Mariota kept his words short and simple.
Instead of dwelling on the loss that had kept the Ducks just short of their title dreams, which was a feat within itself, Mariota preached words of encouragement and family, the very aspects of the Oregon culture that prompted the decorated quarterback to return for another year this season. And while there wasn’t too much to be said in a game where Urban Meyer, third string extraordinaire Cardale Jones and Ezekiel Elliott outperformed his team, Mariota continued to emphasize how special this team was, how bright the future was for this program regardless of whether or not he decides to return for another year or inevitably moves on to the NFL.
“It was a great season,” Mariota said. “To be Pac-12 champions, to be Rose Bowl champions, it says a lot about what we’ve been able to do and we came up short tonight, but I’m so proud of these guys for battling all year.”
Keanon Lowe was one of the first players that media members approached some minutes after the Buckeyes celebrated on the podium, holding up their first-ever College Football Playoff hardware. Exactly like Mariota, the senior leader remained as even-kill as possible, embracing the positives.
Said Lowe: “You obviously don’t want to end your season this way, but I’m not overly emotional right now because I’m taking the time to appreciate everything I’ve been through these last five years and especially this year. It’s been the best year of my life.”
The loss was undoubtedly hard, and you could tell by just looking at the disappointment on the Oregon players’ faces, but Lowe showed that there was a way to deal with the enormity of the situation, that there was a way to move forward.
“We’re obviously one of the best teams in the country, we didn’t get to go down as the best, but this team is a whole bunch fighters and they’re all my brothers and I love them all.”
Judging by the numerous reactions from the Oregon players, there was a certain, noticeable confidence among them that their program was going to be ok, that there was something positive to take away from this memorable loss. No one truly knows the future of this program, but internally, the Ducks remained confident in their chances to return to the top, embracing the very family-esque ideals that were first set by Chip Kelly, that were later developed by Mark Helfrich.
“I believe it’s ascending,” Mariota said about Oregon’s future. “This program has been around now for a few years and they have great coaches, great talent and there’s always an opportunity to get better. Whatever the case may be, this program will be alright.”
With less than a minute remaining on the countless high definition screens surrounding AT&T Stadium, Mariota and Hroniss Grasu shared one last final moment, one that encapsulated years of camaraderie, brotherhood.
With the game already in hand for the Buckeyes, with the distraught Oregon fans not knowing how to take the loss, with the thousands of prideful Buckeyes fans cheering on what they knew was likely going to be Mariota’s final drive in college football, Mariota made eye contact with his longtime center, telling him to “go out swinging.”
Neither of them wanted to exit with a loss, especially one of this magnitude, but like always, the two fought hard together until the end. And as Mariota’s last pass was picked off, the game came to an end, leaving behind an image of two storied players that had failed to bring home a title in two separate instances.
“He’s done a lot for us,” Grasu said of Mariota. “He’s an unbelievable person, unbelievable face of the program, I couldn’t ask for any other quarterback to go to war with, any other team to go to war with.”
Grasu is bound for the NFL next season and so will a large group of other Oregon players. Mariota on the other hand, has yet to make his decision to return for one more year.
“Especially a guy like Marcus, he’s a brother to me, someone I look up to very much,” Grasu said. “Since I’m done here….I don’t know what he’s going to be doing, but it’s been a pleasure.”
Regardless of the decision he makes, their relationship will exemplify an attitude that their program will continue to strive for as they look to reload next season. This won’t be the last time Oregon will see a closely knit team make a memorable run, at least that’s what they believe, hope for.
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim