This year's Heisman Trophy finalists have been announced in Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, Alabama receiver Amari Cooper, and record-breaking Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon.

They will be making the trip down to New York for the Heisman presentation after the finalists were announced on Monday. The announcement of the winner will take place on Saturday night.

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The clear front-runner to win the 80^th Heisman Trophy is Mariota. If he wins, he will become the first Oregon player to earn college football's most famous player of the year trophy.

On January 1, Mariota and the second-seeded Ducks will face Florida State and last year's Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston at the Rose Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Cooper on the other hand has helped Alabama earn the top seed in the playoff. The Crimson Tide will be playing Ohio State at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

The finalists of the Heisman trophy are determined by percentage of votes from 929 media members and former winners.

Last season, Mariota did not get into the top 10 of the Heisman voting last season, but he entered the 2014 race as one of the preseason favorites.

In his third year as the Ducks' starter, he has played a great season so far. He is currently the nation's top-rated passer (186.3) and has thrown for 3,783 yards and 38 touchdowns with only two interceptions.

He has also has run for 669 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Pac-12 champions.

Gordon has his own achievements, as he leads the nation with 2,336 yards rushing and 179.7 yards per game. He broke the single-game FBS rushing record with 408 yards against Nebraska, a record that only stood for one week.

Cooper set a Southeastern Conference record with 115 catches for 1,656 yards and 14 touchdowns for the top-ranked team, the Crimson Tide.

TagsHeisman Trophy, Marcus Mariota, Amari Cooper, Melvin Gordon