Can Baker Mayfield Cap His Career with a Heisman Trophy and 2nd Playoff Berth?

For those following Baker Mayfield's career, the knocks against the Oklahoma quarterback are well-known and, at this point, uninventive. 

Not tall enough. Not fast enough. Too much a product of the Sooners offensive system. Too….whatever.

Yet he just keeps churning along and winning. Oklahoma will go into 2017 with the nation's longest winning streak among Power Five programs, and he's twice finished in the top five of Heisman Trophy balloting.

At this point, the question isn't if he can be "the man" for Oklahoma, or even the Big 12 Conference. It's if he can be the man for all of college football.

For those who haven't been following Mayfield, think Johnny Manziel's style of play, but he also has a strong reputation on campus for playing Halo and being able to laugh at himself.  

Mayfield isn't pro-style, relies a lot on pocket mobility and plays like he has a chip on his shoulder the size of a small state.

He's also brash. Very brash. For example, when he went back and beat his old team at Texas Tech this past season, Mayfield took particular pleasure in the vulgar chants from fans, who also threw things on the field following the 66-59 Oklahoma victory.

"It's fun," Mayfield said during his postgame press conference. "It makes it enjoyable. Obviously, the history made it more serious for them."

That history included opting to walk on at Texas Tech instead of accepting a scholarship to schools that he didn't think were worthy of his services. Consequently, he became the first true freshman walk-on quarterback to start a Football Bowl Subdivision opener.

Despite Mayfield being named the 2013 Big 12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year, head coach Kliff Kingsbury declared the quarterback job an open competition heading into 2014. Mayfield responded by transferring to Oklahoma, where he sat out a season after Texas Tech refused to grant his release.

The argument over whether a walk-on should be allowed to transfer within the conference without losing a year of eligibility wasn't settled until this past summer, when the Big 12 retroactively changed the rule.

Mayfield won. It's something he's gotten good at.

After beating out Trevor Knight for the starting job in 2015, Mayfield led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff, where they lost to Auburn in the Orange Bowl. This past season, the Sooners just missed the CFP and finished No. 5 in the final Associated Press Top 25.

So now we have the encore season, the one Oklahoma gets as a bonus and will more than take advantage of with the guy who the Sooners generously list as being 6'1" and doesn't pass the eye test for the NFL. He also doesn't appear to have the necessary arm strength or accuracy. 

Yet when he finished fourth for the Heisman in 2015, Mayfield completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns against only seven interceptions.

This past season, when Heisman voters had him third behind Louisville's Lamar Jackson and Clemson's Deshaun Watson, he was 254-for-358 (70.9 percent) with 40 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions.

He set the NCAA record for single-season passing efficiency with a rating of 196.4, topping the mark set by another high-profile transfer, Wisconsin's Russell Wilson (191.8 in 2011). The next best Power Five quarterback was Washington's Jake Browning (167.5).

Pro Football Focus also named Mayfield college football's Passer of the Year, saying, "It's not always conventional, but Mayfield continues to get the job done."

Moreover, Mayfield's leading receiver, Dede Westbrook, finished right behind him in the Heisman voting.

"It's pretty phenomenal," offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said at a press conference prior to the Sugar Bowl, where Oklahoma defeated Auburn, 35-19. 

"You're sitting there in New York at the Heisman ceremony, and there's only five guys up there in the entire country, and two of them are from our team; that's a special moment, no question. And then obviously, Dede being able to win Oklahoma's first Biletnikoff was a great moment, as well."

Topping all of that won't be easy.

The Sooners lost some key talent, including Westbrook and running backs Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon, but most of the offensive line returns intact, and Riley's Air Raid attack should again be prolific. 

Category	2015	2016
Comp. percentage	68.1	70.9*
Pass efficiency rating	173.3	196.4*
Passing yards	3,700	3,965
Passing yards/game	284.6	305.0
Passing yards/attempt	9.4	11.1*
Passing yards/comp.	13.8	15.6^
Touchdown passes	36	40
Total touchdowns	43	46
Points responsible/game	19.8	21.2

However, the defense has to play better for the Sooners to return to the CFP. The Sooners ranked 82nd in total defense, giving up 432 yards per game, whereas the worst of the four semifinal teams this past season, Washington, was 12th.

The 2017 schedule will also be challenging, as most of Oklahoma's big games will be away from home. It has a crucial Sept. 9 visit to Ohio State, along with trips to both Oklahoma State and Kansas State.

Although Texas has a new head coach in Tom Herman, the neutral-site Red River Rivalry is always tough, and the Big 12 Championship Game is also returning. Should the Sooners qualify, they'll play a rematch, which is never easy.

The showdown with the Buckeyes figures to be especially important, since last year's meeting was Mayfield's worst game of the 2016 season. The 45-24 loss knocked the Sooners out of playoff contention.

But Oklahoma didn't respond like its season was already over.

"Just getting back to the basics, going back through the game plans and basically going through our installs again," Mayfield said while crediting Riley for his resurgence. "Learning it all again and just focusing on the square-one reads realizing, 'Yeah, I have been here before,' but at the same time you've gotta do the little things right to be successful."

Here's how well Mayfield responded: For the first time in program history, Oklahoma faced a ranked opponent in four consecutive games and won them all. It closed with wins against No. 25 Baylor (45-24), No. 10 West Virginia (56-28), No. 11 Oklahoma State (38-20) and No. 14 Auburn (35-19).

Opponent	Outcome	Comp. perc.	Yards	Rating	D ranking
vs. Houston	L	72.7	323	175.0	13
La.-Monroe	W	70.0	244	222.0	119
Ohio State	L	53.1	226	120.6	6
at TCU	W	76.7	274	175.4	76
vs. Texas	W	71.0	390	195.7	94
Kansas St.	W	80.6	346	210.5	51
at Texas Tech	W	75.0	545	266.3	128
Kansas	W	66.7	236	204.3	109
at Iowa State	W	73.5	328	187.5	102
Baylor	W	80.0	300	199.2	81
at W. Virginia	W	60.0	169	185.3	73
Oklahoma St.	W	68.4	288	247.9	92
vs Auburn	W	67.9	296	180.2	28

That's a source of real optimism in Oklahoma, where Bob Stoops won the 2000 national championship with a quarterback who also wasn't considered a top-notch NFL prospect, Josh Heupel.

Although the season doesn't start until September, there are already some obvious names when it comes to the Heisman chase. Jackson will likely have to top last year's numbers for a chance to repeat, and there's a growing sentiment that he shouldn't have won in 2016.

On the West Coast, all eyes will be on Browning, who is coming off shoulder surgery, and Sam Darnold, whose USC team returns to the spotlight as the Pac-12 favorite. However, the Trojans will play their entire regular season without having a bye week (it's at the end, Nov. 25).

OddsShark has gone so far as to make Mayfield its early favorite to win the Heisman. With a Sept. 9 win against Ohio State and fellow front-runner J.T. Barrett, the trophy will be his to lose. 

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a national college football columnist for Bleacher Report.  Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.