Three weeks into the NCAA football season, the race for who will win the 2013 Heisman trophy is starting to play out.

While SportsCenter constantly gives all the attention to Texas A&M quarterback and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, there’s one quarterback under the radar: Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Mariota rarely receives attention on ESPN, but that’ll change this year when he walks up to the stage in December to accept the 2013 Heisman Trophy.

The 6-foot-4, 211 pound quarterback can do it all, from reading defenses and throwing the ball with pure accuracy, to blowing past defenders with his speed. There’s not an area in Mariota’s game where he can be contained.

Through three games, the Oregon quarterback has passed for 889 yards and seven touchdown passes along with no interceptions. On the ground, Mariota has rushed for 262 yards and two touchdowns, according to ESPN.com. He also has a quarterback rating of 179.0, which is better than one of the top Heisman candidates, Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd who has a rating of 148.6, according to ESPN.com.

While quarterbacks Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater have more passing yards than Mariota, Mariota is dominating the two quarterbacks in rushing and is not far behind in passing. Not committing turnovers is another area that Mariota has an advantage in over the other two.

Manziel should be thrown out of the discussion of Heisman talks after Texas A&M lost at home to Alabama last Saturday.

Seven out of the last nine Heisman trophy winners have gone to players who have competed in the BCS National Championship game, accordin, to Heisman.com. The Heisman Trophy doesn’t just go to the player who has the best stats, but to a player that is a winner.

Texas A&M suffering a loss means they’re title hopes are sinking. One of the other top candidates, Louisville quarterback Bridgewater’s chances of winning the Heisman will be slim because the Cardinals play in the AAC Conference. Compared to conferences such as the Pac-12, ACC and SEC, the Cardinals do not have the strength of schedule to be put in the discussion to play for the National Championship.

Mariota is in current control of the No.2 team in the country that plays in one of the best conferences (the Pac-12) and has a chance to lead his team to a national championship.

The amount of weapons Mariota has with All-American running back and wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas along with wide receiver Josh Huff, will only help Mariota increase his stats. The type of spread offense that Oregon runs only benefits the him because he can either increase his stats in the passing game or running game.

Also, nine out of the last ten Heisman winners have been given to quarterbacks according to Heisman.com, which means the chances of Mariota winning the Heisman are that much higher.

If the Oregon quarterback can play well against upcoming opponents such as the No.17 ranked Washington, No.13 ranked UCLA and No. 5 ranked Stanford, and leads his team to victory, then Oregon will have its first Heisman Trophy winner.

Mariota has already cruised past Tennessee last week, a team that plays in the best conference in the country (SEC). He threw for 456 yards and four touchdown passes along with rushing for a touchdown. After winning the Fiesta Bowl last season as a freshman, the sophomore enters this year with more experience and will know what it takes to win.

According to NBC Sports writer Chris Huston, Mariota is on pace to have 3,848 passing yards with 30 touchdown passes, plus 1,131 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. That comes to 4,979 yards of total offense and 47 touchdowns, which just happens to be about what the last five Heisman-winning quarterbacks produced in their Heisman seasons.