WACO, Texas — Of all the crazy and all the wacky, of the all the wild and the wonderful, what’s lurking around corner in the perfectly imperfect show that is college football might be the biggest twist of all.
Bigger than a dropped punt returned for a touchdown or a behind the back lateral on fourth and forever or eight laterals on a phantom touchdown.
5 THINGS: OU-Baylor | Alabama | Notre Dame | Clemson | Ohio State
Oklahoma, the same Oklahoma left for dead after a truly awful performance against a truly awful Texas team, is on its way to the College Football Playoff.
“Every week in November is a playoff to get where we want to go,” says OU quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Wouldn’t you know it, the guy who had to walk on two different programs just to get his shot is leading the way. How’s that for crazy?
“Baker just has this way about him and we all feed off it,” said Sooners center Ty Darlington. “Good things happen when he has the ball.”
Good things that suddenly have transformed a team searching for answers six weeks ago, into a team on the verge of reaching college football’s holy land.
We’re still two weeks from it all unfolding, but there’s no denying it now: the Sooners are surging with a hot quarterback, the schedule sets up to impress the CFP selection committee and those in the lead pack are fading fast.
Not even the dreaded, tired November argument of “who have they beaten” can hold back the Sooners now. An impressive 44-34 victory over Baylor — the first for any opponent at McLane Stadium in 20 games — is just one step in a prove-it month for the team in the Big 12 that’s playing better than any other.
“We’re one of those teams,” said OU coach Bob Stoops, “that has a chance at everything.”
Think about that. Six weeks ago, OU was floundering in self-doubt after an unthinkable loss to a Texas team that threw the ball 12 times and ran for 313 yards. Now the Sooners have won five straight and have hit their stride, punctuated by an impressive win against a Baylor team that, despite playing with a second-string quarterback, would be a significant matchup problem for anyone in the game.
Now Oklahoma, left for dead in early October, is in prime position to play for it all. Notre Dame’s resume is fading, and one-loss LSU and Stanford are now two-loss LSU and Stanford and before you know it, Bedlam will be here and Oklahoma State will still be unbeaten and the Sooners will have everything in front of them.
Because finishing the season with wins over Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State — two potential unbeatens on the road — is better than finishing with wins over Wake Forest, Boston College and Stanford and losing by two at Clemson. Besides, losses are overrated when the CFP committee sits around the big oak table in suburban Dallas and decides who’s in — big wins to finish the season hold more weight.
Just ask Ohio State.
ANALYSIS: Notre Dame | Clemson | Alabama | Ohio State | Michigan
This is what the Big 12 envisioned when these mega games were back-loaded to the month of November (even though the commissioner swears they weren’t). You don’t want us in your playoff? We’ll just force our way in.
The day began with Oklahoma State finding its way out of a 17-point hole in Ames, Iowa and staying unbeaten — with (still) a better resume than defending national champion Ohio State.
It ended with Oklahoma finding success the only way you can in the Big 12: best quarterback wins. Two years ago, Mayfield was a forgotten benched starter at Texas Tech who left after losing the starting job, and transferred to Oklahoma.
Now the player who had to walk on at Texas Tech because no one offered a scholarship; who had to walk on at Oklahoma because Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury wouldn’t let him transfer to a Big 12 school which prevented him from signing a grant in aid, is the hottest quarterback in the game.
How hot? Heisman Trophy hot.
Since that pitiful loss to Texas; since everyone in Crimson and Cream hopped on the fire Bob Stoops bandwagon, Mayfield has 19 TDs (17 pass) and just two interceptions and the Sooners have blown out everyone in their path.
For the first month of the season, OU struggled to find a groove with a new offensive coordinator (Lincoln Riley), new quarterback (Mayfield) and a new system. Now in the middle of November, when every game is magnified, Riley calls a near perfect game and Mayfield is making every coach who passed on him out of high school look absolutely foolish.
It’s not just his ability to make every throw, or extend plays by scrambling or his deceptive speed and ability as a runner. It’s the attitude, the calm yet cocky demeanor that fuels this team.
“I’m not going to back down,” Mayfield said. “I’m not scared of anything. I am who I am. I play backyard football and I take pride in it.”
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the ultimate gym rat, the guy who thrives in backyard ball, is doing big things in the Big 12 — the conference of last team with the ball wins.
What’s surprising is Mayfield’s play, his desire to push himself to play better week after week, rubs off on the OU defense.
For the first time since Mike Stoops returned to Norman in 2012 to be his brother’s defensive coordinator, Oklahoma can now say it has a championship defense. Forget about the points given up; what OU did to the Baylor offense was not like anything we’ve seen in two years.
Baylor’s 34 points were deceiving: OU gave up too many silly points with dumb penalties and a bad turnover that led to a Baylor touchdown. By the time the skies opened up and the rain poured down on McLane Stadium late in the fourth quarter, OU had held Baylor to a season-low in yards (416) and forced three turnovers.
“I don’t care about a freshman quarterback, that was a hard game against a great team,” said OU linebacker Eric Striker. “I’ve got a cut on my leg, bruises all over, blood all over my uniform. That was two really good teams going at it.”
And one potentially great team moving forward after another big November game.