If it’s OK with everybody, I’d like to speak directly to the 929 people who determine the winner of the Heisman Trophy: Give it to Baker Mayfield.
On Saturday, Mayfield led the Sooners to a 38-20 win over no. 6 TCU and finished with 333 yards and three touchdowns on 18-for-27 passing. If that wasn’t enough, he added 50 yards on the ground, including a 27-yard jaunt on third and long. Every time TCU failed to capitalize on an opportunity, Mayfield made them pay. Every time it looked like they might show some spark, Mayfield extinguished it. He hit seven different receivers and gained more than 12 yards per attempt. While no. 1 Georgia and no. 3 Notre Dame fell, and no. 2 Alabama struggled to put away Mississippi State, Mayfield and Oklahoma never looked uncomfortable.
Baker Mayfield is the constant in a season determined to cave to chaos. Heisman contenders like Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, Stanford’s Bryce Love, and Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett garnered hype but have stumbled. Barkley was the frontrunner early, hurdling his way to national acclaim. But he’s failed to crack 100 yards from scrimmage in three of the past four weeks, including his last two games. Love leads the country in rushing yards, but his team has lost three times and is an afterthought on the national stage. And Barrett looked lost against Iowa, throwing four interceptions en route to the Buckeyes’ second loss.
Mayfield is the only choice. With each passing week, it becomes clearer that the crowded field isn’t that crowded after all. For the third time this season, the Sooner quarterback picked apart a highly ranked opponent. First, it was Ohio State. Mayfield dominated the Buckeye defense to the tune of 386 yards, three touchdowns, and one flag plant. All on 77.1 percent passing. Then it was Oklahoma State in Bedlam. Baker connected 24 times for 598 yards and finished with six total touchdowns. This week, it was TCU. The Horned Frogs have one of the best defenses in the country, and going into Week 11, they allowed just 13.9 points per game. Thanks to Mayfield, the Sooners eclipsed that mark before the end of the first quarter.
In the first quarter, he found CeeDee Lamb for a 46-yard pick-up on third down. The Sooners took the lead three plays later and never relinquished it. On the next drive, he threw another 46-yard strike, this time to Rodney Anderson. Ninety-one seconds later, Mayfield hit Grant Calcaterra to extend the lead to 10. He threw five more passes of more than 20 yards, including a 50-yarder to Marquise Brown and a 33-yard touchdown to Anderson, who was having a career night of his own.
Not only is Mayfield going deep with his passes (he leads the nation in completions of 20 yards or more), he’s accurate with them. Coming into Saturday, Mayfield had the highest completion percentage in the country and the highest yards per attempt. He was second in yards per game but barely cracked the top 40 in attempts. Through 10 games, he’s completed 71.2 percent of his passes, thrown 31 touchdowns, and had only five interceptions. He’s the best signal caller in the country, and he meets the typical Heisman-winner benchmarks.
To win the Heisman Trophy, you have to check a few boxes:
1. You have to play for a good team.
Only two Heisman winners in the past 18 years have played for teams that won fewer than 10 games. Oklahoma is 9-1 and will likely be ranked in the top four when the new College Football Playoff rankings are released on Tuesday. They’ve beaten three teams ranked in the top 11, and their only loss came against Iowa State—this season’s anointed giant killer.
2. You have to show consistent excellence.
Even the smallest slipup could cost you the chance to strike the eponymous pose onstage in New York. Baker Mayfield’s worst game was a two-touchdown, 306-yard performance in the Sooners’ Iowa State loss. He completed nearly 73 percent of his passes. His next worst outing was the game before, when he threw for 283 yards and three scores on 68 percent passing.
3. You have to have A Heisman Moment.
Lastly, and maybe most importantly, Heisman winners need to make big-time plays. The kind they can show on SportsCenter and teens can cut into highlight videos on YouTube. Mayfield’s love of the deep ball means there are plenty to choose from. Pick any of his 40-plus-yard bombs against Oklahoma State. Or this game-changing throw to beat Texas. Or any of his three touchdown passes tonight against a national title contender.
Mayfield finished third in last year’s Heisman voting and fourth the year before. He’s spent enough time watching his contemporaries claim college football’s highest individual honor. Now it’s his turn. Oklahoma’s last two Heisman winners were quarterbacks. After another dominant performance, don’t be surprised if Baker makes it three.
