Baker Mayfield Needs to Have a Good, If Not Great, Game
Beginning his second season in Lincoln Riley’s Air Raid offense, Baker Mayfield needs to play a relatively error-free game and keep the chains moving and the Oklahoma offense on the field as much as possible. That is the best way to defend against Houston’s equally high-powered offense: by keeping Houston QB Greg Ward Jr. on the sidelines for long stretches.
Mayfield needs to live up to his Heisman candidacy. He will be working with a new set of primary receivers and by keeping the defense guessing as to which receiver the ball is going to should open up multiple pass options and opportunities for the Sooners. Mayfield completed 67 percent of his pass attempts last season, and he should have even more weapons on the receiving end this season than in 2015.
The Texas Tech transfer is just the right fit for Lincoln Riley’s Air Raid offense, and his ability to get the ball out quick on pass plays and get the Sooners out of bad or broken plays makes Mayfield all the more dangerous leading the OU offense.
The fact that he has perhaps the best backfield in college football behind him in Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon – both players dynamic rushers as well as receiving targets out of the backfield – makes it difficult to defend the balance Oklahoma throws at you on offense, with Mayfield leading the parade.
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