Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield leads Bovada’s Heisman Trophy odds.
NORMAN — Despite playing what he called his worst game since the Ohio State loss a season ago, Baker Mayfield leads Bovada’s Heisman odds after OU’s 56-14 win against Tulane.
Mayfield tops the field at 7-to-4 odds, improved from 4/1 odds after the win against Ohio State. He jumped Lamar Jackson for the top spot as the Louisville quarterback’s odds went from 7/4 to 1½ following the loss to Clemson.
Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph isn’t far behind in Bovada’s book either. He’s fifth in the race from 10/1 odds to 9/1 following OSU’s destruction of Pitt — a game Mayfield watched before playing Tulane.
“We were in the hotel for a later game so we got to watch some of that,” the OU quarterback said. “They’re playing well, and there’s no question about that. Their offense is very talented, and guys are making competitive catches for him. He’s doing a great job of getting the ball in their hands.”
Mayfield (5/2) and Rudolph (3/1) were first and second in the Las Vegas Westgate SportsBook odds as of Sunday night. But Mayfield, who finished third in Heisman voting last year, isn’t too worried about how the odds stand right now.
“We’ll see who’s on top at the end of the season,” he said.
Mayfield on the 2014 season demise: ‘I blame Katy Perry’
The last time the Sooners checked in at No. 3 during the season came in Week 5 of 2014 ahead of playing an undefeated TCU team.
But after peaking in the polls at No. 3 that year, OU’s season quickly went off the rails, beginning with a 37-33 loss at No. 25 TCU in its second conference game of the year. From there, OU dropped Big 12 games to Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma State.
By the end of the season, OU fell well short of its College Football Playoff aspirations.
So what went wrong? “I blame Katy Perry,” Mayfield said Monday.
It’s not as outrageous as it sounds.
OK, maybe it is. Before OU played TCU in 2014, Perry was on ESPN’s College GameDay as the guest picker and broke out a heart-shaped Trevor Knight sign and told the then-Sooner quarterback to call her.
After Perry’s shout out, the Sooners went 4-5, including a dismal 40-6 loss to Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
So, where does this put Mayfield in the all-important Team Katy Perry v. Team Taylor Swift debate?
“I don’t think there’s any comparison,” he said.
Marquise Brown picks up weekly Big 12 honors
Sophomore wide receiver Marquise Brown made a big impression Saturday, and Monday morning he was rewarded with Newcomer of the Week honors from the Big 12.
Brown, a junior college transfer from California’s College of the Canyons, led all OU receivers with 155 yards — including a school-record 141 after halftime — on six catches, and he had a monster 87-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Kyler Murray late in the fourth quarter. His deep score was the fifth-longest reception in OU history.
OU also picked up Big 12 weekly awards in the first two weeks of the season as Mayfield earned Offensive Player of the Week following his performances against UTEP and Ohio State.
Injury update
It doesn’t appear OU will enter the first Big 12 game of the season with any additional significant injuries following the Tulane game.
“We’re going to kind of see how a few of these guys respond,” coach Lincoln Riley said Monday. “I don’t think there’s any new injuries from the Tulane game that would hold anybody out for Baylor.”
Riley said that tight end/ wide receiver Mark Andrews, who played against Tulane with a bruised quad was really close to being “100 percent.” He added that safeties Robert Barnes and Will Johnson along with offensive lineman Cody Ford were still questionable.