You can love him or hate him, but at the end of the day you have to respect Baker Mayfield. His performance against the vaunted Ohio State defense on Saturday night put Oklahoma’s boisterous at the forefront of the college football world. One could argue that there isn’t a more electrifying figure in the game of football…at any level.
While fans were hopeful the Sooners could score the upset win, in Columbus, on Saturday night, it was Mayfield who confidently led the troops into battle. Looking forward to the opportunity of silencing the crowd at the Horseshoe, Mayfield did just that with a second half performance that will put him back on the shortlist for a trip to New York City in December.
Following a first half that saw Oklahoma’s offense sputter with two fumbles and a bad snap on a field goal attempt, Mayfield went to work slicing up Ohio State’s defense. The Sooners trailed 10-3 the first time Mayfield touched the ball in the second half, but he quickly eradicated that deficit with a 36-yard touchdown to Dimitri Flowers that capped a 5 play, 67-yard drive.
Ohio State responded with a field goal to go back on top 13-10 but Baker put Oklahoma in front for good with his second opportunity to have the ball in the third quarter. He took the Sooners 92 yards, in just four plays, highlighted by an 18-yard strike to Lee Morris.
A 10 yard pass to freshman Trey Sermon opened up the scoring in the fourth quarter and gave the Sooners some breathing room, up 24-13. Jordan Smallwood scored OU’s final touchdown of the night, on a 3-yard run, to finish the wrecking job on a Buckeye’s defense that was supposed to be too deep and too physical for Oklahoma to handle.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock the scoreboard read 31-16 and Mayfield’s final stat line read 27/35 for 386 yards, three touchdowns, and no turnovers. “It was awful,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. “We got beat by a very good team and a quarterback that was dynamic. I thought our defense hung in there against, like I said, a very good player.”
The conclusion of the game didn’t prevent Mayfield from remaining in the spotlight. Celebrating victory, in a contest that he had clearly marked as a revenge game, Mayfield took the OU flag for a victory lap around the stadium and then planted it inside the “O” at mid-field.
Baker Mayfield = S A V A G E pic.twitter.com/jqBdixbibK
— Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) September 10, 2017
From beginning to end, this game was on Mayfield. His ability to will the team to win is uncanny, and should be the reason he wins the Heisman. Offense or defense doesn’t make a difference, every player on this team follows his lead and plays for him. The feed off his confidence and share in his showboating antics. Baker Mayfield is Sooner Football.
After composing himself enough to step to the podium in the media room, Mayfield had one final bomb to drop in Columbus.
“We should have won by more,” he said.