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Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield will not start vs. WVU after sideline incident at Kansas
Baker Mayfield will not start in his final home game at Oklahoma.
As a result of his actions during Saturday’s win at Kansas, Sooners coach Lincoln Riley announced Monday that Mayfield won’t be a team captain either, but he will play. Kyler Murray will get the start.
Head coach Lincoln Riley announces that QB Baker Mayfield will not start Saturday's game against West Virginia, but will play and he will not be a team captain for the contest.
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 20, 2017
Riley said it wasn’t an easy decision to make and got choked up talking about what Mayfield means to the program.
.@LincolnRiley on @baker_mayfield6 pic.twitter.com/ZKyobimGdH
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 20, 2017
Mayfield, a senior quarterback and the leading contender for the Heisman Trophy, was shown during the third quarter of Saturday’s game in Lawrence shouting obscenities and making a lewd gesture toward the Kansas sideline.
Before the game began, Kansas players snubbed Mayfield at the coin toss by not shaking his hand.
Baker Mayfield Forever pic.twitter.com/mE2zNSnwnJ
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) November 18, 2017
On Monday, Kansas coach David Beaty apologized for his team’s defensive captains not shaking Mayfield’s hand, calling it “absolutely unacceptable.”
From the Lawrence Journal-World:
“That was a situation that we needed to make a better decision there,” Beaty stated. “I believe very strongly in good sportsmanship. It’s absolutely essential to the game of football and our mission, which is developing young men. We’ve always got to show respect to each other and the teams we’re competing against.”
KU’s coach maintained, as he said during his post-game press conference following the 41-3 defeat, he did not know Daniel Wise, Dorance Armstrong Jr. and Joe Dineen planned to snub Mayfield at the 50-yard line, when the captains met there for the pre-game coin toss.
“While I wasn’t aware that those players were not going to shake hands,” Beaty said, “and we certainly never would have made that plan as a coaching staff to do something of that nature, we also love these kids, man, and I know their hearts. I know their passion. I love their toughness. I love their desire to compete. But we’ve let them know that their decision was unacceptable and it can not happen again.”
Mayfield issued a lengthy apology after the game, which OU won 41-3 to improve to 10-1 on the season, but Riley went ahead with disciplinary measures anyway.
— Baker Mayfield (@baker_mayfield6) November 19, 2017
It was the third time Mayfield has issued an apology this year. He apologized in the offseason after an arrest and also apologized to Ohio State for planting the OU flag at midfield of Ohio Stadium after the Sooners beat the Buckeyes in September.
The fourth-ranked Sooners, who have already clinched a spot in the Big 12 title game, host West Virginia on Saturday. The Mountaineers are coming off a loss to Texas where they lost star quarterback Will Grier to a finger injury. Grier is not expected to play against OU.
The Sooners can’t afford to slip-up against the Mountaineers if they want to get back to the College Football Playoff.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
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