ESPN College GameDay announces QB Marcus Mariota as guest picker for USC at Oregon

Legendary Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota will be the guest picker on ESPN’s College GameDay this weekend. The weekly college football pregame show is traveling to Eugene, Oregon, to watch the No. 7 Ducks square off against No. 15 USC on Saturday.

Mariota is currently a quarterback for the Washington Commanders. He is second on the Commanders’ depth chart, but has been starting for the team while second-year QB Jayden Daniels battles an injury.

He will only be the latest NFL star to appear on ESPN’s College GameDay. Last week, three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald was the guest picker in Pittsburgh. In the two weeks before that, Patrick Mahomes and Alex Smith appeared on the show.

Mariota played at Oregon from 2011-14. In just three seasons, he amassed 10,796 passing yards, 2,237 rushing yards and 134 touchdowns. He only threw 14 interceptions in his collegiate career.

For his efforts in his final season with the Ducks, he reeled in numerous awards, including the Heisman Trophy. Mariota was the first Oregon player to ever win the most coveted individual award in college football.

Oregon earned a bid in the inaugural College Football Playoff in 2014. Led by Mariota’s excellent play, the Ducks dominated Florida State and Jameis Winston in the CFP semifinals. However, Oregon ultimately fell short of the national title, suffering a 42-20 loss to Ohio State in the national championship game.

In 2016, Oregon unveiled its 30,000 square-foot Marcus Mariota Sports Performance Center. The Tennessee Titans selected Mariota with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Mariota has bounced around in the NFL since then, playing for five teams total. However, he’ll always have a home back in Eugene.

Oregon will look to make Mariota proud on Saturday as it clashes against the Trojans. USC is entering the contest on a three-game win streak. The Trojans must win on Saturday to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.

Of course, with one loss this season and a lackluster non-conference resume, the Ducks are feeling the CFP pressure as well. Oregon landed at No. 7 in the official CFP rankings this week, but it still doesn’t have much room for error.

On Saturday, the Ducks and Trojans will face off at 12:30 p.m. PT. The highly anticipated Big Ten meeting will air live on CBS.