For Baker Mayfield, the third time was the charm.
The Oklahoma quarterback won the Heisman Trophy Saturday night in his third year as a top-five finisher in the voting, following a fourth-place finish in 2015 and a third-place finish last year. Louisville QB Lamar Jackson, last year's Heisman winner, and Stanford RB Bryce Love trailed Mayfield in the balloting.
Love finished second in the voting, with 1,300 to Mayfield's 2,398. Jackson finished third with 793 votes. Mayfield received 86 percent of the possible points, third-most since 1950.
"This is unbelievable for me. Being up here among these greats is something that words can't even describe unless it's them," Mayfield said during his acceptance speech. "It's such an honor."
He is OU's sixth Heisman winner, joining Billy Vessels (1952), Steve Owens (1969), Billy Sims (1978), Jason White (2003) and Sam Bradford (2008). The senior is among the most intriguing prospects for the 2018 NFL Draft, an exciting talent with a long track record of on-field success, but one that includes a few red flags as well.
Mayfield led the Sooners to a third consecutive Big 12 championship with a 12-1 record, and a berth in the College Football Playoff next month. For the season, he completed 262 of 369 passes for 4,340 yards for 41 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He also ran for 310 yards and five more touchdowns on the ground. Two signature moments stamped his Heisman campaign: a 31-16 road win over Big Ten champion Ohio State in which he threw for 386 yards and three scores, and a wild 62-52 win over Oklahoma State. Against the rival Cowboys in the game known as Bedlam, Mayfield threw for a career-high 598 yards and five touchdowns.
For the second year in a row, he completed 71 percent of his passes, which led the nation. His 203.8 pass efficiency rating also led all FBS passers.
NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah has noted improvement in Mayfield as a pocket passer this season, and analyst Bucky Brooks has compared him to New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees. Earlier in the week, Mayfield won the Maxwell Award as the nation's top player, and the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top quarterback.
Mayfield and the Sooners face Georgia in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 in a CFP semifinal, with the winner to face Alabama or Clemson in the championship game on Jan. 8.
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