Oklahoma football: Former OU QBs square off in NFL showdown
By Chip Rouse
They were college teammates at the same position, but these two former Oklahoma football stars will be on opposite sides on Sunday in an NFL showdown between the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals.
Kyler Murray was the backup to Baker Mayfield in the latter’s 2017 Heisman Trophy winning season. Not only did Murray follow Mayfield as the Sooner starting QB the next season, in 2018, but also in winning the Heisman, college football’s top individual prize.
Their stats in their Heisman-winning seasons as the Sooner starting quarterback are remarkably comparable.
Mayfield, No. 2 on the Oklahoma career passing list, threw for 4.627 yards, 43 touchdowns and completed 70.9 percent of his passes in the 2017 season, setting an NCAA-record quarterback rating of 198.9.
One year later, in 2018, Murray got his chance, completing 69 percent of his passes for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns, with a quarterback rating of 199.2, bettering Mayfield’s single-season record. Murray was a dual threat, both passing and running the football. He was the Sooners’ second-leading rusher in 2018, eclipsing 1,000 yards on the ground with 12 rushing touchdowns.
Both quarterbacks won the Heisman in back-to-back years, led the Sooners to back-to-back appearances in the College Football Playoff and, as if that wasn’t enough, were No. 1 overall picks in the NFL Draft in successive seasons.
Mayfield, in his second NFL season, will be the quarterback for Cleveland when the Browns take the field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday against the Cardinals. Murray will be in the same role for host Arizona.
In 13 games in his rookie season for the Cardinals, Murray has completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 3,080 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also has toted the ball for 448 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Murray has thrown for more than 300 yards four times and thrown two or more touchdowns in a game seven times. His last three games, however, he has thrown for fewer than 200 yards and, in a 10-point loss to San Francisco last weekend, was picked off three times.
Mayfield is having a more difficult year-two season than his rookie year in 2018. The No. 1 pick by the Browns in the 2017 NFL Draft, Mayfield has completed 59.2 percent of his pass attempts this season for 3,109 yards, but has thrown more interceptions (16) than touchdowns (15). A year ago, he threw 27 touchdown passes with 14 interceptions.
Although their names and college football achievements will forever be linked with Oklahoma, neither Mayfield nor Murray began their collegiate experience at OU.
Mayfield transferred and walked on at Oklahoma after playing his freshman season at Texas Tech. Murray opted out of Texas A&M after one season as an Aggie. The two were teammates at Oklahoma for two seasons, although Murray was eligible just one of those years, having to sit out the 2016 season because of NCAA transfer rules.
On Sunday in Arizona, the two former Sooner superstars will oppose each other for the first time in a game of sevens. Mayfield and the Browns are looking to even their season record at 7-7 with a win over Murray and the Cardinals, who are hoping to snap a seven-game losing streak.