LAWRENCE, Kan. _ Baker Mayfield took two steps across the 45-yard line, extending his right arm toward Joe Dineen. The Kansas linebacker didn't look up.
Swaying side to side, arms behind his back, Dineen tapped his feet on the turf while ignoring Oklahoma's star quarterback. Kansas teammates Dorance Armstrong and Daniel Wise struck the same pose beside Dineen during the coin toss, hands interlocked behind their bodies.
Mayfield was being snubbed. After an awkward second, he snapped his head back, retreating to his teammates while clapping three times _ an indication that it was game on.
The encounter was just the prologue of a Mayfield-vs.-KU feud that quickly became the story of No. 3 Oklahoma's 41-3 victory on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.
KU wasn't finished trying to stand up the Heisman favorite. Before the game, Armstrong got facemask to facemask with Mayfield _ arms behind his back _ to say something before an official separated them. Later, ESPN cameras spotted Wise yelling at Mayfield as the two crossed paths, and just before halftime, KU cornerback Hasan Defense took four steps after the QB released a pass to deliver a cheap shot to his right shoulder. Mayfield's head snapped back, and Defense was flagged 15 yards for a late hit to aid an Oklahoma touchdown drive.
Mayfield, for his part, wasn't backing down from the chatter. During one point in the first half, he turned to KU fans behind the Oklahoma bench, appearing on video to say, "Your team has one win. Go cheer on basketball."
Then, after a third-quarter touchdown pass, Mayfield waved his arms in the air while yelling at KU's coaches on the sideline. A few seconds later, after making it to the Oklahoma bench, he grabbed his crotch twice, repeated an obscenity three times, then waved his hand to a KU assistant while saying, "Come here! Come here! Come here!" ESPN chose not show this on replay because of the antics' "graphic nature."
So did KU's "get-in-his-head" strategy work? For a half, the answer appeared to be yes.
The Jayhawks defense, fired up by the pregame activities, played inspired football while forcing four three-and-outs from the nation's best offense. Mayfield also was uncharacteristically inaccurate, oftentimes looking for home-run plays when they weren't there.
At halftime, Mayfield's line wasn't impressive. He was 7-for-13 passing for 105 yards, as KU held Oklahoma to 5.7 yards per play _ well below the Sooners' 8.5-yard average coming in.
Like so many other games, though, KU couldn't stay competitive because of an offense that was a net negative. The Jayhawks had just 69 first-half yards against a previously leaky Sooners defense, an effort that included a costly interception when receiver Evan Fairs knocked a catchable pass in the air to Oklahoma's Emmanuel Beal inside the KU 15.
Mayfield was 20 of 30 overall for 257 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was replaced by backup Kyler Murray early in the fourth quarter.
KU, 1-10 and 0-8 in the Big 12, ends its season next Saturday at Oklahoma State.
