Mayfield snubbed as No. 3 Sooners roll 41-3 win over Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns after getting dissed by the Kansas captains before kickoff, leading the No. 3 Sooners to a 41-3 rout of the Jayhawks on Saturday.
Mayfield had tried shaking hands with Daniel Wise, Dorance Armstrong Jr. and Joe Dineen Jr. after the coin toss, but they stared stoically back at him. Mayfield quickly pulled his hand away, clapped a couple of times and set about burnishing his Heisman Trophy candidacy.
He threw TD passes to Rodney Anderson and Marquise Brown in the first half, then founded Mark Andrews late in the third quarter, which prompted more insults between Mayfield and the Jayhawks.
At one point, Mayfield lewdly grabbed his crotch while cursing across the field, and another time he yelled to fans behind his bench: "You have one win! Go cheer on basketball!"
The histrionics added at least some interest to a game that figured to be a blowout. The Sooners (10-1, 7-1) are fourth in the College Football Playoff ranking and clinched a spot in the revived Big 12 title game, while the Jayhawks (1-10, 0-8) have yet to beat a Football Bowl Subdivision foe.
Mayfield got most of the fourth quarter off as the defensive-minded Sooners won their 17th straight road game and 15th in a row in the Big 12, setting a league record. It was also their 12th consecutive win over the Jayhawks, their longest winning streak against any opponent.
Carter Stanley had 117 yards passing for Kansas. Khalil Herbert had 37 yards rushing.
The Jayhawks actually forced the Sooners into four three-and-outs in the first half, one of the worst defenses in the nation holding in check one of its best offenses. But they still trailed 21-3 at the break as a result of their own miscues more than anything else:
-- The Jayhawks held Oklahoma to fourth-and-3 at their own 34-yard line, and had Mayfield in trouble when they inexplicably stopped covering Anderson. He caught a pass in the middle of the field and outran the defense to the end zone to give the Sooners a 7-0 lead.
-- Deep in the Jayhawks' own territory, Stanley skipped a pass off the hands of wide receiver Evan Fairs that was picked by Emmanuel Beal. Jordan Smallwood scored three plays later for a 14-3 lead.
-- And late in the first half, after the Sooners took over at their own 16, a 30-yard pass play was augmented by a roughing-the-passer penalty. The Jayhawks got hit with defensive holding on the next play, and Brown's 24-yard TD catch with 10 seconds left capped a three-play, 84-yard drive.
The Sooners eventually hit their stride in the second half, when the animosity between their star quarterback and the Kansas defense reached a crescendo, and easily pulled away.
THE TAKEAWAY
Oklahoma could have run up the score but chose instead to coast, perhaps a result of the friendship between Sooners coach Lincoln Riley and Kansas counterpart David Beaty. Still, it was an oft-underwhelming performance by a team with national championship aspirations.
Kansas hardly had reason to celebrate Senior Day. Less than half the announced crowd of 22,854 showed up, and half of that were Oklahoma fans. The coin-toss snub and the embarrassing antics toward Mayfield by several people on the Jayhawks' sideline only underscored a dismal home finale.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma wraps up the regular season against West Virginia next Saturday.
Kansas concludes the season at No. 13 Oklahoma State next Saturday.
