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From a 3-3 halftime deadlock, it was all Mayfield in the second half as Oklahoma jumped in the polls to No. 2
By ARNIE LESHIN, Santa Fe Today
Baker Mayfield wasn’t finished yet. The game at Ohio State was over, followed by the sideline celebration and the handshakes at midfield, but when you wait a year for this, there’s more things to do.
So as Oklahoma fans came onto the field after the resounding 31-16 win over the 2nd ranked Buckeyes, Mayfield headed for the stands, grabbed an Oklahoma flag and raced around the field before stopping and emphatically planting it in the middle of the black “O” logo at midfield as the Ohio State band just stood and watched.
Fourth last year in the Heisman Trophy voting, he didn’t have this on his mind, reserving that for the revenge he was seeking.
“We waited for this and did a number on the home team,” he said. “It was payback time after last year’s game on our field won by Ohio State and we had to watch those Buckeye players embrace and sing their alma mater right in the middle of the field where the big O logo was,”
The senior quarterback added that it was embarrassing for them to sing their fight song on our field, and they probably feel the same way now.
The consensus picked Ohio State to emerge victorious and make the rest of the season a nightmare for the 5th ranked Sooners. It was felt that the Buckeyes’ home field advantage made them the better team.
But behind the heroics of Mayfield and the fired-up defense and the usual large Oklahoma turnout on the road, it wasn’t even as close as the final score indicates. It was enough to bring the No. 2 spot to the Sooners and send Ohio State to No. 8.
The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Mayfield just picked the Buckeyes apart. He was often scrambling from a robust pass rush and firing precision passes to wide-open receivers. He completed 27 of 35 throws for 386 yards and three TDs.
Ohio State put points on the scoreboard first by making good on a field goal, The offense wanted the touchdown, but the Sooners abruptly stopped it on third down, thus the 3. But Oklahoma did the same, moving the ball by land and by air until it decided to settle on the field goal.
So it was 3-3 at halftime, and the Sooners raced to their locker room while the Buckeyes appeared somehow stunned, even if it was a tie game. But maybe they had an inkling that Oklahoma was better then it seemed, and that Mayfield would have the main stage in the second half.
He not only relied on his arm, but on the ground game. He handed off to 4-5 different running backs and they did their part. Near the end of the third quarter, his TD pass into the end zone brought a 10-3 lead that was never threatened. And in the fourth quarter, the confident Mayfield poured it on.
“We should have won by a lot more,” he said.
He could have his say, for this performance came a week after he threw 16-straight completions, finding with 19 of 20 for 329 yards and three touchdowns in the 56-7 rout of UTEP at home.
After last year’s loss to Ohio Stadium, Oklahoma did not lose again, but the Buckeye setback kept it out of the Final Four playing for the national championship.
So Mayfield hasn’t lost a game since that stunning setback at home to Ohio State.
“Baker deserves a lot of credit,” said Sooners’ new head Lincoln Riley, “and we certainly did not have to wait long for a signature win. I mean, he’s just a great player, he played extremely well against a defense as good as theirs. And I was especially proud of the way we came together and played Oklahoma ball.”
Now the Sooner hopes are flickering brighter. And Mayfield’s bid for the Heisman award became a whole lot better.
Their remaining schedule lists three probable tough tests on teams currently ranked., and who are in the Big 12. There’s No. 19 Kansas State on the road Oct, 21, there’s No. 11 at state rival Oklahoma State on Nov.4, and there’s the contest at home Nov. 11 versus No. 23 TCU. And let’s not forget the annual game against Texas in the Orange Bowl, and anyone else on the slate.
In summing up the nationally televised Saturday night game that was sold out back in August, Oklahoma made two mistakes in the early going, and none in the last three quarters. With the balance of its offense, it came together for 490 total yards to Ohio State’s 350. First downs, it was 27-21 for the Sooners.
The Buckeyes ran for 167 yards on 34 carries, Oklahoma was 37 for 104, but through the air, magical Mayfield passed for 386 yards, while Ohio State had 183. The Sooners had seven running backs to move the ball, the Buckeyes only three. Freshman Trey Sermon paved the way for Oklahoma with 62 yards on 17 carries.
Defensively, the Sooners had their way. They pressured Ohio State quarterback J.T, Barrett, giving him little time to pass and little time to scramble.
Both schools are home Saturday, Oklahoma against Tulane and Ohio State versus Army.
As for Oklahoma, it was sooner better than later to climb the polls, and now it’s a question of how Mayfield quarterbacks the rest of the way. Oh, and you have wonder what became of his hip injury in the first half. He limped around, told the sidelines he was fine, and just continued to roll on and play the entire game.
And when all was said and done, there he was dashing with that bad hip and sped to where the Ohio State logo was to plant the Oklahoma flag. It was a big day for the Boomer Sooners.
