In a battle of Heisman Trophy winners, Marcus Mariota led No. 2 Oregon Ducks 56-20 over Jameis Winston's No. 3 Florida State Seminoles on Thursday to win the Rose Bowl. Mariota, the 2014 awardee, passed 26-of-36 for 338 yards and two touchdowns plus a 23 yard-touchdown run. The 2013 recipient, Winston, passed 29-of-45 for 348 yards and a touchdown.

It marks the third victory by a current Heisman Trophy winner over a former winner. Other big contributors for the Ducks were running back Thomas Tyner, who rushed for 124 yards and had two touchdowns, and wide receiver Darren Carrington who had to touchdowns and covered 165 yards in seven catches.

Royce Freeman had a 1-yard run in the first and Thomas Tyner added another 1-yard run in the second to put the Ducks up 18-6 before Karlos Williams completed a 10-yard run that placed the Seminoles within 18-13 at the half. Freeman had another run in the third to push the Ducks lead to 25-13.

Then Winston hit Travis Rudolph from 18 yards to allow the Seminoles to close in within five points again at 25-20. The Mariota had two touchdown passes to Darren Carrington, the second after a Reggie Daniels fumble recovery, to give the Ducks a 39-20 lead. Then Jameis Winston also fumbled that was recovered by Tony Washington leading to a 58 yard run to make it 45-20.

Oregon surged ahead 59-20 lead in the fourth following runs by Mariota and Thomas Tyner. The Ducks are now one win away from their first ever national championship and will face the Ohio State University Buckeyes on January 12 in Arlington, Texas. The Ducks have now also won their last nine games by an average margin of 51-21.

If Winston declares for the NFL draft, he is expected to rival Mariota as to who would be picked No.1 overall. Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht was present in the game to assess both Heaiman Trophy winners. The two-sport Winston, who is considered an Major League Baseball prospect, said his focus is not on leaving his school soon and is looking forward to playing football and baseball for the Seminoles next season.

To contact the author of this article, email c.tordesillas@IBTimes.com.au

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