ARLINGTON, Texas » As the waning seconds on the clock high above the end zone at AT&T Stadium ticked down on the foregone conclusion of a 42-20 loss to Ohio State, quarterback Marcus Mariota looked at his University of Oregon linemen, and they looked back at their leader’s eyes.

One last time, they said he told them, "Let’s give it everything we’ve got."

With that, Mariota reached back and, with his sore right shoulder, launched a pass high downfield. It was intercepted by Eli Apple at the Ohio State 25-yard line, and time ran out.

Time and circumstance had long since passed on the possibility of a Cinderella ending to the season for the Ducks or their Heisman Trophy winner in the inaugural College Football Playoff Championship Game. But as center Hroniss Grasu said, "With Marcus, as long as we’re on the field, we’re going to give it everything we’ve got. That’s just the way he is. So that was the way we were going to go out — fighting."

This time the confetti they brushed from their hair on the way off the field was to salute somebody else, a surprising and much stronger, more talented Buckeyes team. For only the fifth time in 41 starts of a remarkable, award-winning career at Oregon, the Saint Louis School graduate did not win, and he left the field with his lip quivering, a towel wiping his eyes.

This time the game belonged to somebody from "the other St. Louis": Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott of St. Louis, Mo. The unstoppable Elliott ran 36 times for 246 yards and four touchdowns to power the Buckeyes to a 14-1 finish and give coach Urban Meyer his third national championship (two came at Florida).

Mariota completed 24 of 37 passes for 333 yards, two touchdowns and the one interception. Good numbers, as Meyer would acknowledge later. Especially when three passes were dropped.

But it wasn’t a victory, and for the moment, Mariota said, that was all that mattered.

It would be the only time in his three years as a starter at Oregon that Mariota would not leave the field in the postseason as the game’s MVP. In the Fiesta, Alamo and Rose bowls, he carried off the trophies.

"It hurt to lose after we had come so far," Mariota said. "We played a great team."

Later, buried under a pile of lei brought by supporters from Hawaii, Mariota thanked Hawaii for its backing and said, "Sorry we came up a little short."

With 8 minutes, 36 seconds left in the game, Mariota had been driven hard to the turf on his right (throwing) shoulder by the Buckeyes’ Joey Bosa. For a moment he paused on his hands and knees and was forced to leave the game.

After warming up on the sidelines and assuring coaches and trainers he was "OK," Mariota would return. "Had to be out there with my teammates," Mariota said later.

What he didn’t say and will probably announce this week is that it was the last game in his storied college career. Though he has one year of eligibility remaining should he choose to return to Oregon, the Ducks and everybody else expect him to declare his candidacy for the NFL Draft, where he is projected to be a high-first-round draft pick.

Mariota was asked about his legacy in college football, where he was one of the most accomplished players in history, and at Oregon, where he is a folk hero. But he was having none of it.

"I don’t care about legacies," Mariota said. "That’s other people’s opinions. My main focus was to be a great teammate. That’s all I really hoped to accomplish."

Oregon coach Mark Helfrich knew he was saying "goodbye" to Mariota as they sat next to each other on a stage in the interview room.

"I absolutely couldn’t be luckier to coach him and be around him every day. He’s kind of one of those guys that, around our neck of the woods, it’s kind of (like) Madonna, Cher or whatever — it’s ‘Marcus.’ That’s the kind of status his name has reached. He’s an adjective, and the impact he’s had on the field is extremely significant. Off the field, probably even bigger."

Helfrich added, "I think you could certainly argue that this was the best, if not certainly one of the top two or three greatest seasons in college football history. And then if you add in the person and the legacy that he has from that standpoint, there has never been one greater. None."

All the way down to that last pass.

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