AP to name its top player today

Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, Stanford running back Bryce Love and Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson are the finalists for The Associated Press college football Player of the Year.

The winner will be announced today. The finalists are the same as those for the Heisman Trophy, which will be presented Saturday.

Mayfield has led the No. 2 Sooners to the College Football Playoff, where they will play No. 3 Georgia in the Rose Bowl. Mayfield leads the nation in passer efficiency rating and has thrown for 4,340 yards and 41 touchdowns.

Love is second in the nation in rushing at 164.2 yards per game on 8.32 yards per carry for the 15th-ranked Cardinal.

Jackson, last year’s Heisman winner, leads the nation in total offense at 411 yards per game.

The AP player of the year has been awarded since 1998. Last year’s winner was Jackson. the 2010-11 seasons.

The Razorbacks have turned to an up-tempo, offensive-minded coach — albeit one without the Petrino’s scandalous baggage — to try and rekindle that level of success.

Arkansas hired SMU’s Chad Morris on Wednesday, ending nearly two weeks of uncertainty following Bret Bielema’s firing moments after the season ended. The 49-year-old Morris inherits a program in disarray, though his arrival — along with the hiring earlier in the week of new athletic director Hunter Yurachek — represents a fresh start for a program desperately in need of it.

“The future is tremendously bright at the University of Arkansas with the addition of Chad Morris,” Yurachek said.

“I am confident that Chad will bring an exciting brand of football, phenomenal student-athletes and championships to Fayetteville, and do it all with high integrity.”

Morris agreed to a sixyear contract worth $3.5 million annually. He leaves the Mustangs after agreeing to an extension through the 2023 season last year.

His contract also calls for incentives to be established that could net Morris up to an additional $1.2 million annually.