Can somebody, please, hurry up and get University of Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota a nickname?

Something that sizzles, like his passes. Something that, like his long runs, isn’t easily forgotten. Something cool, like his composure under fire.

Because, at this point, a catchy nickname is about all that is keeping the Saint Louis School graduate out of more serious Heisman Trophy candidacy conversations.

The competition for a prized finalist invitation to New York is wide open. So much so that, despite the historical prejudice against freshmen, Texas A&M redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel has vaulted into the discussion, largely on the strength of Saturday’s upset of then-No. 1 Alabama.

Not long after Manziel led the Aggies past the Tide on Saturday, Mariota passed for six touchdowns, completing 27 of 34 passes for 377 yards, to lead the Ducks to a 59-17 thumping of California. This on the heels of a 20-for-23, four-TD demolition of USC.

But, in a lot of people’s minds, Manziel is — or should be — pressing Kansas State’s Collin Klein for the Heisman frontrunner position.

And Manziel is not even the best redshirt freshman quarterback in the country right now. Mariota is.

Mariota is the triggerman of the unbeaten (10-0), No. 1-ranked, points-a-plenty Ducks. Make no mistake about it, Manziel, of the 8-2 Aggies, is a rare talent and key to A&M’s rise. But he also has a little something Mariota lacks, a great nickname: “Johnny Football.”

Fans chant it, announcers love it, writers get it and voters will remember it.

Never mind that Mariota leads the nation in passing efficiency and accuracy. “Johnny Football” sticks in hearts and minds better than a 71.7 completion percentage. It captures imaginations better than a 176.96 efficiency rating.

The overall statistics for the two quarterbacks are fairly similar. Mariota has passed for 28 touchdowns (against five interceptions) and has run for three TDs. Manziel has passed for 18 touchdowns (six interceptions) and run for 15 TDs. Oregon is averaging 562.6 yards and 54.8 points per game and Texas A&M 545.4 and 43.1.

Both are amazing players and coming out of the Ducks’ 2010 summer camp for high school prospects, both were seemingly Oregon-bound. But when A&M called, Manziel, a Texas native, answered. “Tell Chip (Kelly, the Oregon coach) he did all right,” A&M coach Kevin Sumlin told CBS.com. “I don’t feel sorry for Chip at all.”

What makes Mariota’s stats even more noteworthy is that he has gotten an early hook. The Ducks have led at halftime by an average of 25.8 points per game, meaning Mariota’s often riding a stationary bike or encouraging his backup from the sidelines by halftime.

If you’ve ever talked to Mariota, you know he’d be the last one pining for a nickname or campaigning for Heisman mention. He’s remarkably focused and unselfish. He’s about winning ballgames and getting to the BCS title game, something he has the Ducks on target for in his first season of college football.

If Notre Dame and Kansas State do their parts, we could even have a local national title showdown of the Irish’s Manti Te‘o (Punahou) vs. Mariota (Saint Louis). And, maybe, two local representatives among the Heisman finalists.

But you’d like Mariota’s chances better on the latter if he had a nickname that matched his game.

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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.