With 13:15 left in the second quarter Saturday, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield began another of his signature scrambles. However, this time he didn’t escape.
Instead Mayfield took a shot to the head from TCU linebacker Ty Summers as he was going to the ground. Summers was flagged for targeting and ejected from the game, but the effects of the hit lingered on Mayfield.
Wild play ends in a targeting call on TCU's Ty Summers. Sooners and TCU still tied at 7. Clippit
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said Mayfield passed concussion protocol several times on the sideline. The junior went on to play three more drives before halftime, one of which ended in a 36-yard touchdown pass to Dede Westbrook.
But at halftime, Mayfield admitted to team trainers he had a headache. That’s when the decision was made to withhold No. 7 Oklahoma’s starting quarterback from the rest of the game against No. 18 TCU.
He finished 9-for-20 for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
“Hopefully, he was honest,” Stoops said of Mayfield’s behavior on the sideline before halftime. “I think, too, as he played on, a little bit later, he gets tackled and some of that may have shook him and then (the headache) started or maybe a little bit more.”
Oklahoma (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) pulled out the 30-29 victory over TCU (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) Saturday, but not before making a change behind center.
Trevor Knight took over starting quarterback duties in the second half after Mayfield emerged late from the Sooners’ locker room, helmet under his shoulder with a dejected look about him.
Just before kickoff, Mayfield stood on the sideline and received encouraging words from teammates as Knight warmed up to take his place in one of OU’s biggest games of the season.
Mayfield was not made available for comment after the game, but Knight said he didn’t talk to Mayfield nor did he notice anything off about his teammate before halftime.
“I didn't find out until halftime that he was a little bit banged up,” Knight said. “He's feeling fine now. I've been talking to him on the sideline and then after the game, he's dancing around in the locker room, of course.”
Knight finished with 76 yards on 5-for-16 passing.
Mayfield is known for scrambles like the one that got him hurt Saturday — what OU’s radio play-by-play man calls magic tricks. But beneath the unpredictable plays and theatrics that have earned him a Heisman bid, many have wondered whether Mayfield might get injured eventually.
Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, a former quarterback himself, said he doesn’t worry about his quarterbacks hurting themselves.
“It's a dangerous game,” Riley said. “I don't know that I ever worried they were going to get hurt. You don't ever want it to happen but, I mean, you can't approach it like that. That's part of the game.”
