Oklahoma football: How Baker Mayfield went from walk on to OU legend
The win over Ohio State
All of the moments before and after this are big, but there’s really no denying this is the one that defines Baker Mayfield’s college career.
A year after getting run off their own field by a talented Ohio State team (I told you we’d get back to that), Mayfield and company showed up in Columbus with an attitude.
Even the normally-calm Lincoln Riley seemed to a little surely in the press conferences leading up to the game as Oklahoma fans could feel something special bubbling just near the surface all week.
While the Sooners moved the ball in the first half, they failed to capitalize on some golden opportunities. Still a stellar effort from the defense had them tied at 3-3 going into the locker room for halftime.
After Ohio State scored on its first second-half possession the Sooners’ offense came alive behind Mayfield. He fooled the Buckeye defense with a play fake, then hit Dimitri Flowers over the middle for a 36-yard touchdown to tie the game.
After an Ohio State field goal Mayfield rolled right and dropped a dime downfield to Mykel Jones for a 42-yard completion that pushed the ball into Ohio State territory. On the very next play he fired a dart over the middle of the field to Lee Morris for an 18-yard touchdown to give the Sooners a 17-13 advantage.
In the fourth quarter Mayfield climbed the pocket and threw another pinpoint-accurate pass, this time to freshman running back Trey Sermon for a 10-yard touchdown to give the Sooners a nine point lead. After an Oklahoma interception Jordan Smallwood scored on a three-yard run to cap off a avalanche of Oklahoma points and start the celebration of a 31-15 road victory in the Horseshoe.
While a win in Columbus over a highly-touted Ohio State team would have been enough to put Mayfield into OU lore by itself, it was his next action that forever defined his Sooner career.
Celebrating with the band and students near the stands in the end zone, Mayfield commandeered an Oklahoma flag and took off for what appeared to be a victory lap around the stadium in Columbus before veering back toward the field around the 50 yard line.
As a group of OU players began to form around him Mayfield proudly waved the OU flag before thrusting it into the field turf at the 50-yard line. The move set off a wave of cheers from Oklahoma fans and a torrent of complaints and “hot takes” from commentators. Mayfield immediately went from a great Oklahoma quarterback to a lightning rod for controversy and an easy segment filler for those who get paid to stir it up.