PASADENA, Calif. » On the first day of 2015, Marcus Mariota was high, and seemingly, tight.

His passes, that is. But not for long.

The unflappable one adjusted his calibration quickly enough, and with a little help from his friends on both sides of the ball — and the opponents, too — the Heisman Trophy winner got better as the Rose Bowl went along.

"I didn’t feel that I was too anxious going in. I just missed a couple of throws here and there," the Saint Louis graduate said. "Hats off to (the receivers) because they’re finding ways to get open."

Those "soft" Oregon Ducks and their polite quarterback took a little time to shake off the rust, but then they dismantled the Seminoles in a third quarter best described as ferocious and efficient.

Defensive end DeForest Buckner of Waianae and Punahou helped out, getting his paw on a ball, leading to an interception that set up Mariota’s 23-yard touchdown run — part of a 44-0 spree after FSU scored early in the third quarter.

And now Gallant is going to the national championship game and Goofus is going wherever Goofus goes after he and his team get crushed 59-20.

Baseball? Another year with Florida State? The NFL?

Wherever.

After the way Jameis Winston talked after the bushwhacking, why should we even care?

Get back to us later, we’ve got other things to ponder. Like this year’s Heisman winner and his team that just worked you and yours, headed to the championship game.

I think he tried on humility in the post-game presser, and maybe just didn’t like the way it fit. He gave his frenemy Mariota the obligatory "got to tip your hat" because "he led his team to victory."

But then, in the next breath …

"We played our tails off too, man. This game could have went either way … if everybody in this room just want to be real with themselves, this game could have went either way. We turned the ball over a lot. We beat ourself. Just be real with yourself right now. We beat ourself."

I will thank Winston for this, he’s got one of my favorite songs, Cheryl Lynn’s "Got to Be Real" going on a continuous loop in my head now.

Here’s something real. Tony Washington really did run 58 yards with Winston’s fumble … the longest play of the game. Nobody on Florida State’s offense could catch an Oregon linebacker.

Really.

"Saw T-Dubs burst," Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said. "Talked to our receiver coach after, he may be moving next week."

No, that part’s not real.

Here’s what Washington said when told Winston said Oregon’s defense had nothing to do with FSU’s major malfunctions. He basically excused him, tried to pull Winston’s foot out of his mouth for him.

"I feel like that’s a mentality you kind of have to have playing offense. He has that competitive attitude, and I thought that’s what he was trying to present to everyone. I don’t really have much to say about it."

A quote like that is straight out of the Mariota playbook. A lot of vanilla, but served up with grace and humility.

And Mariota is glad he doesn’t have to answer any more questions comparing him to Winston, at least for now.

 There will be more later as the NFL Draft nears, assuming both make themselves available. But for now, Oregon advances … to the national championship game

And that is very real.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.