WACO, Texas — With 4:58 left in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield took the snap from the shotgun on third down and goal.
The Sooners, up 37-34 and again threatening on the Baylor 7-yard line, were looking to put a nail in the coffin of a cold and rainy night in Waco, Texas.
Mayfield dropped back and looked for an open receiver.
One, two, three…
His darting eyes saw nothing acceptable, so he momentarily tucked the ball, looking to run.
Four, five…
Just yards ahead of Mayfield a Baylor defender hurtled toward him. Running was no longer an option, so he dropped back once more.
Six…
Mayfield spotted fullback Dimitri Flowers in the endzone, not a teammate he expected to see going out for a pass. Regardless, he let the ball fly.
Seven, eight…
Flowers hauled in the pass and immediately ran to tight end Mark Andrews to celebrate. After eight seconds of pure insanity, Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) had created a little breathing room for itself.
“I had (Sterling Shepard) on the right side running a corner route, and then Mark was doing a route that I gave him,” Mayfield said. “Dimitri wasn’t in the pass originally, he was in protection.”
Mayfield finished the night 24-of-34 for 270 yards and three touchdowns against the No. 2 passing defense in the Big 12. In its previous eight games, Baylor (8-1, 5-1) allowed 6.7 yards per completion.
Mayfield averaged 11.3 Saturday.
With a performance like that in primetime on national television, the junior threw his name into the ring for the Heisman Trophy.
“That’s what I said to ESPN after the game,” wide receiver Sterling Shepard said. “If he’s not in the Heisman talk, something’s wrong here. I’m always going to ride with my boy.”
Shepard finished with 14 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns, all team-highs.
Even Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who generally avoids concerning himself with midseason hype, agreed Mayfield should be in the running for college football’s top award.
“I don't know how he wouldn't,” Stoops said. “I think it's time for that.”
The plays that have earned Mayfield his Heisman hype have by and large involved him throwing on the run. While each scramble is unpredictable, Shepard said the receivers work on getting themselves into better position during practice.
“Because having a quarterback like Baker, you never know where he’s going to be,” Shepard said. “So you’ve got to constantly be checking back there and seeing where he is.”
Oklahoma linebacker Eric Striker watched Mayfield’s performance Saturday from the sideline. On the stat sheet, Mayfield’s two-yard scramble on third down and 27 in the first quarter didn't look impressive. What Striker saw, however, was much different.
“Did you see the play where he broke all those tackles?” Striker said. “I don’t think he got much of a gain, but geez. You rarely see that. You see different things from great quarterbacks, but that was a little something different.”
While the world watches him dance in the backfield, miraculously pulling touchdowns and two-yard gains alike out of thin air, Mayfield is along for the ride just like anyone else.
Not even he knows what’s coming next.
“Not at all,” he said. “I’m just out there playing backyard football at that point, and that’s something I take pride in.”
