In what was one of the most anticipated opening games for this year’s NFL season, Hawaii-born and last year’s Heisman trophy winner Marcus Mariota led the Tennessee Titans to a dominating 42-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Sept. 13, reported ESPN.
The game featured last year’s No. 1 draft-pick Jameis Winston versus the number two pick Mariota. “Starting fast, setting the tempo, going out there and having success early, just gave confidence to everybody and really helped us all the way through the game,” said Mariota in an interview to ESPN after the game.
Mariota got the Titans and his career off to an explosive start as he threw four touchdown passes in the first half. “It was incredible to see. Mariota was really on his game and it was cool to see him beat Winston so handedly,” said Steven Rodriguez, a junior from Oregon studying informational technology.
Mariota finished the game going 13 for 16 with 209 yards and four touchdown passes, while his counterpart Winston went 16 for 33 with two touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mariota played his high school football at St. Louis High School, a private high school in Honolulu, before going on and playing at Oregon University. His storied career at Oregon University included runner-up to the National Champion last year and he became the first Polynesian football player to win the Heisman trophy and given the College Football’s best player.
“It is awesome to see that a local boy from Honolulu is making it big in the NFL. There have been so many already and hopefully there continues to be more,” said Jershon Baldomero, a junior business major from Kailua.
Unfortunately, Mariota was not able to turn the win against the Buccaneers into a winning streak, as the Titans fell to the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Sept. 20. Regardless of the loss, Mariota had a solid outing going 21 for 27 for 257 yards and two touchdowns.
“It will be fun to watch him and see what he can do this year. He is off to a great start and I think he will have a great year,” said Logan Griffin, a senior in business from Arizona.
Mariota will be back in action in his first home game next week against the Indianapolis Colts.