They will not square off against each other until November 4, but you can bet that quarterbacks Baker Mayfield of the Oklahoma Sooners and Mason Rudolph of the Oklahoma State Cowboys are already looking forward to that date when they can prove who is the better player and whose team is superior.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
That Oklahoma-Oklahoma State showdown will likely not only determine the Big 12 champion but also could help decide who wins the Heisman Trophy in December between the two current favorites.
Right now, Mayfield appears to be the player to beat at +275 based mainly on his performance in a 31-16 road win over the Ohio State Buckeyes on September 9. The senior threw for a season-high 386 yards and three touchdowns at Ohio State, outplaying counterpart J.T. Barrett of the Buckeyes in a key matchup.
Meanwhile, Rudolph has thrown for more yardage and more touchdowns than Mayfield in the same number of games, although he has not faced the same kind of competition. Also a senior, Rudolph is coming off a school-record 497 yards with five touchdowns and one interception in a 59-21 rout of the Pittsburgh Panthers last week on the road.
If the Cowboys can just make it past two tough road matchups at the Texas Longhorns and West Virginia Mountaineers to end October, they should put themselves in position to win the conference with a home victory against the Sooners to start November. Before that, Oklahoma hosts Texas and then visits the Kansas State Wildcats.
Two other top quarterbacks and one outstanding running back will also have something to say about the Heisman race before all is said and done.
Reigning Heisman winner Lamar Jackson of the Louisville Cardinals and Sam Darnold of the USC Trojans are two more signal-callers who have a legitimate shot at +550 while Saquon Barkley of the Penn State Nittany Lions is hoping to become the second running back to win the award in three years at +700.
It is worth noting that quarterback Jalen Hurts of the Alabama Crimson Tide currently has more rushing yards than Barkley, and he is listed at +2500.
