The Stats

• Mayfield leads the FBS with a passing efficiency rating of 203.8. If Mayfield stays anywhere close to that pace in the postseason he could break his own FBS record of 196.4 from 2016.
• The Austin native also leads the FBS in completion percentage (71%), yards per attempt (11.8), yards per completion (16.6) and passing plays of 20-plus yards (75).
• Mayfield has thrown 41 TD passes (which ranks second nationally) compared to only five interceptions in 2017.
• In Oklahoma’s four biggest games (at Ohio State, at Oklahoma State, vs. TCU x2), Mayfield had a completion percentage of 69.4 while throwing for for 1,560 yards (390 per game) and 15 touchdown passes.
• Against ranked opponents, Mayfield has a passing efficiency rating of 215.3.

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The Plays

Of course, the stats don’t tell the entire story. Mayfield has come up huge time and time again when his back was against the wall. When OU has needed a big play, Mayfield has delivered. Let’s take a look at some of his best plays from the 2017 season:

Mayfield to Sermon - 9/9/17

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Jeff Badet in motion - 9/23/17

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“The Eyes of Texas” - 10/14/17

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Mayfield has moves

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Stiff-arm in Stillwater

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Anderson out of the backfield

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HollyWOOOOOOOD!!!!

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Mayfield to “Calcutta”

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Fourth down in Lawrence

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Threading the needle to Andrews

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Threading the needle to Andrews again

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The Storylines

• As you all know at this point, Mayfield started his collegiate career as a walk-on at Texas Tech before enrolling at Oklahoma. In case you’re fuzzy on some of the details, here’s a quick explanation of that journey.
• During the offseason, Mayfield was arrested after a night of drinking in Arkansas, and his community service following the ordeal helped him gain some perspective.
• A lot of people speculate is to what motivates Mayfield, but he says its his ability to embrace his inner-child.
• Jake Trotter of ESPN writes about what makes Baker Mayfield such a unique individual both on and off the field.
• Mayfield is right in the mix to be a first-round pick in spite of some of his perceived limitations. He’s an unconventional prospect, but he may just end up being a franchise QB someday.

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The Moments

Baker plants the flag in Columbus

“You forgot who Daddy is!”

Baker rides off into the OU-Texas sunset

The Bedlam performance

“Go cheer on basketball!”

Three-peat

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Legacy

On a national scale, Mayfield is considered a polarizing figure, and it’s easy to see why. However, he’ll also undoubtedly go down as the best quarterback in the history of his program. After winnig the Heisman, his season is undoubtedly considered the best in school history despite the fact that his team well short against Georgia. This also obviously goes far beyond his stats. I don’t think any offensive player at OU has ever energized his guys quite like Mayfield has these past three seasons. He may not be perfect, but he’s without a doubt the perfect leader of a football team. He’s endeared himself to his teammates and fans unlike anyone I’ve ever seen in Norman, and that will likely be the case for a long, long time. The average Oklahoman is perhaps considered humble by nature, but we love it when our players and coaches bring swagger to the fields and arenas. Mayfield does exactly that.

Mayfield will also likely go down as the best to play football at OU — regardless of position. Perhaps this is recency bias, but I have a hard time believing that any player will ever be more beloved in Norman than Baker, and I hope his future NFL home ends up feeling the same way.