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UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 23, 2017

Baker Mayfield

Waco, Texas

Oklahoma - 49, Baylor - 41

Q. Baker, this game had so many ebbs and flows to it, you come out and you end up winning the game, you're running the ball a bunch in the second half. Talk about how crazy this game was?
BAKER MAYFIELD: Up-and-down for us offensively. Shot ourselves in the foot too much. Wasn't my best game, but, you know, I don't think any of the guys would say the same for the first half. We established the line of scrimmage in the second half and we were able to run the ball well, so I didn't even need to throw. That's good for me.

But we need to play like that, physical like that from the git-go. And I think once we settled in and realized that you can't take anybody lightly, I think we would have played better.

Q. You start out three touchdowns on seven plays. How much did that maybe give the offense maybe a false sense of success early?
BAKER MAYFIELD: Yeah, I think it was a good reality check for us. We say it all the time around here, all gas, no brakes. So you can never let your foot off the pedal, especially playing a team like that because they can score in a second. Doesn't matter their record or anything. It's still a high-powered offense that Baylor's had for a while. So you can never take your foot off the gas.

So I think for us it's just about, it doesn't matter who we're playing, what the score is, down and distance, you've got to go do your job at a high level. So I would say that's the most disappointing thing for us today, tonight, was not being consistent enough.

Q. Can you talk about the sequence with the un-sportsmanlike conduct foul and the very next play throwing the touchdown?
BAKER MAYFIELD: Yeah, I just can't get caught up in the hoopla. I'm an emotional player, but there's got to be a line drawn, so that's on me, especially as the team captain. But it's all about how you respond. I'd say it's the same thing about how we responded after that 99-yard touchdown from Abdul, we responded after that. It's about how you respond. Taking the momentum and take it away from them.

Q. Talk about that play, that's wide open. That was a pretty neat thing?
BAKER MAYFIELD: Yeah, great game plan. We saw something that we liked, and just well-executed. Ran the route right, and executed well on the outside, and up front great protection. So it allowed me to just put it out there for him and he made the rest easy.

Q. Trey comes into this game and takes complete control in that quarter. How big was Trey coming in for you guys?
BAKER MAYFIELD: He's a fantastic player. Just the way physically he is, not just how special he is, but especially at the point in the game where he came in and took over. At that point in time you wear a defense down in the throwing game and we had been doing that, but for him to come in fresh legs and break a lot of tackles and make plays. We blocked well, but he also was breaking a lot of tackles, and that's something that he's so special. It takes a lot more than just one guy to run him down.

Q. Baker, what point did you realize guys like Trey and CeeDee were people you could trust to make plays when you needed them to?
BAKER MAYFIELD: I think just from when they got on to campus. So Trey was here a little earlier. He graduated early, so we got to see him, how he worked out and how he practiced and carried himself. So I think just being able to count on him, like you said, it comes when you're really putting in work and it sucks during the off-season, you see what you're made of.

So with CeeDee, when he first stepped on the campus, it was during the workouts and also with just the players. The voluntary, seven on seven stuff, him making plays just routinely. So you see it as guys, and you gain respect for him. So when the lights come on, you just expect it to be the same thing.

Q. I don't know if you checked the boundary route, the wheel route that you completed after your penalty. But if you didn't, if you got the call in, was that one of those that you felt really good about and loved having it come up right after the penalty?
BAKER MAYFIELD: Yeah, you know. Obviously, like I said, I can't have that happen on my part. We were at 1st and 25, so it was a call from the sideline, but we had run it during the week and we were very confident in it. So just really just trusted in our guys to just do their job on that one. Obviously we had the look we wanted and executed well.

Q. Was that by design why Sermon didn't do that in the fourth quarter, and if so, why?
BAKER MAYFIELD: I'm not doing the depth chart for those guys. I think we have four guys that are more than capable enough of playing here. I just think it's, you know, whoever is hot handling the ball. So I think it's frustrating for those guys whoever's not playing, but at the same time those guys are all, like I said, capable. So when they get in there, they take over.

I think it was good for Trey to take advantage of his time so he shows the type of guy he is and he's going to come in and be a game changer.

Q. Was it physicality though? I mean, Abdul Adams was hot in the third quarter, and then the fourth quarter starts and Baylor's tired in the fourth quarter and can't seem to tackle Trey Sermon?
BAKER MAYFIELD: Yeah, I think after watching how he ran the ball his first drive in, I think it was something that we wanted to stay with. Knowing that they were going to load the box late in the game and try to stop the run game, I think he's the type of guy that has success no matter how many guys they put in the box just because he breaks a lot of tackles.

Q. You were asked so much about replacing Joe and Samaje, were there times tonight that you felt like you had their back the way you guys are running the ball?
BAKER MAYFIELD: I wouldn't say I felt like I had them back. A lot of it is just the combination of our O-line, the play calls, and the guys we have. Yeah, Joe and Samaje are two talented and special guys, but the guys we have in the back field, they're not slouchy either. They're special guys. No, not everybody knows who they are and they haven't had the same amount of reps as Joe and Samaje did, but those guys are talented too. That's why they're at the University of Oklahoma.

Q. Does this bye week come at the right time for this program?
BAKER MAYFIELD: It does. And the bye week, not just where it is in the schedule before we go on a conference run, but after a game like that, like I said earlier, eye opening for us. Got to be more consistent. Never take anybody lightly, and we've got to, no matter what the score is or who we're playing, just keep pushing.

Q. You haven't been behind much this season, and you get behind in this game. You guys respond favorably. Talk about that point in the game.
BAKER MAYFIELD: That's just the mentality we have. I think we've instilled that throughout the tough workouts that Schmidty puts us through. And just talking about we've been in situations where we've been behind before. You've got to stay positive and do your job. Trust in the plan and the plays that are called. If you go out there and execute it, good things will happen. You just keep firing.

Q. It was talked about on the broadcast tonight the words that were exchanged with you and Baylor pregame. When you challenge guys like that, is there a certain amount of respect you have for a team after a game like this? They played you guys tougher than anybody thought that they would.
BAKER MAYFIELD: Absolutely. You get caught up in the hoopla of their record 0-3 coming into this game, but you don't realize that some teams and guys when they get their backs up against the wall, that's when they play their best. I think that's the same thing for us.

You know, I'd compare it to how we went into Ohio State week. Everybody was picking them and nobody really cared about us. It's that same feeling.

You've got to expect that. That's why I said we've got to be consistent, come in, and not take anybody lightly.

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