Sooners dominate in Big 12 title game

ARLINGTON, Texas — Baker Mayfield and No. 3 Oklahoma never fretted the potential consequences of having to play in the revived Big 12 championship game.

The Sooners just went out and proved how deserving they are of that playoff berth coming their way by dominating No. 11 Texas Christian again, 41-17 on Saturday in the second top-10 matchup in four weeks between the Big 12’s top two teams.

“I’m really proud of our group for not listening to the entire narrative across the country that we shouldn’t be playing this championship game and all that mess,” coach Lincoln Riley said. “We knew there was going to be a championship game and that was just going to be part of our journey if we wanted to get to this place.”

Mayfield, the Heisman Trophy front-runner, threw four touchdown passes as Oklahoma (12-1) won its record 11th Big 12 title.

“The reason I came back was to play for a national title,” Mayfield said. “The most exciting thing about today is we control our destiny. That’s all out in front of us.”

The Sooners are a lock Sunday to be in the College Football Playoff for the second time in three seasons. They are the only Big 12 team to make the four-team playoff format that started in 2014.

Mayfield was so confident in the Sooners winning their third straight Big 12 title that in postgame he wore a shirt he had from back-toback championships that already had been updated, showing the three in a row he has won since transferring from Texas Tech.

“I had it updated before Bedlam,” Mayfield said, referring to the game against rival Oklahoma State a month ago.

The Sooners probably would have made the playoff even if the Big 12 hadn’t played its first championship game since 2010. But a loss would have likely knocked Oklahoma out of contention.

Mayfield finished 15 for 23 passing for 243 yards and took game MVP honors.