Tucked away in the Pacific Northwest, the University of Oregon figured it had to make a big splash in 2001 if it wanted quarterback Joey Harrington to have a shot at becoming the school’s first Heisman Trophy winner.

So the Ducks invested $300,000 of donor money in a 10-story, 80-foot wide color poster proclaiming "Joey Heisman" on the side of a New York City building.

Alas, while Harrington finished higher than any previous Duck, he was a distant fourth in the voting to Nebraska’s Eric Crouch.

The Ducks were still without a Heisman Trophy winner when they sat down with quarterback Marcus Mariota before this season to plot their strategy.

Yet, despite Nike benevolence and Pac-12 TV millions at their disposal, they chose, largely at Mariota’s urging, a comparatively low-key campaign that fit their candidate’s personality.

"Our quote — unquote –campaign is to play well and prepare great," as head coach Mark Helfrich has succinctly put it.

In a day in which schools hire public relations companies to promote their playoff candidacies — witness Baylor this week and Conference USA earlier on behalf of Marshall — Oregon’s approach said a lot. 

Mostly it said that the Ducks would let Marcus be Marcus and they both had confidence that would be all they needed.   

There were social media plugs — #SuperMariota — and other fanfare, but mostly it was Mariota’s hands and feet that have positioned him to win the 80th annual Heisman next week.

On Friday they can put a bow on the Heisman with a victory over Arizona in the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

Mariota is already expected to be among the finalists when invitations to the Dec. 13 ceremonies in New York are announced on Monday.

A Heisman in the glistening trophy case is one of the few accouterments lacking in the Ducks’ opulent $68 million Hatfield-Downing Complex. Especially when less-well-heeled instate rival Oregon State has had one (Terry Baker) for a half century. 

In 79 years of the Heisman, the Ducks have had only player, LaMichael James (2010), finish in the top three and he wasn’t close to Cam Newton.    

So, there were some questions last December when Mariota, who was among the favorites early, was not among the top 10 vote-getters in Heisman balloting despite leading the Ducks to an 11-2 record.  An injury that hobbled him in losses to Stanford and Arizona lowered his stock, but it came as a shock that he fell so far. 

The feeling in some quarters was that Oregon needed to do more and make a big push for Mariota, who is expected to leave after this year for the NFL, while they had a viable candidate.

Still, Mariota did not want a big production. 

"For me, I really didn’t want all that attention and I’m glad they were kind of able to accept that and respect that decision," Mariota said.

Hroniss Grasu, the Ducks’ all-Pac 12 center and one of Mariot’s closest friends said, "He doesn’t talk about awards or records, even to us. That’s just the way he is. It is about the team. That’s it."

This year, letting Marcus be Marcus is about to pay off.

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