Baker Mayfield has planted his flag on a hot-button college football debate.
Over the weekend, Michigan sparked a brawl when Wolverines players planted the flag on Ohio State’s logo at midfield after defeating their rivals and Buckeyes players physically retaliated.
The situation escalated to a point where police deployed pepper spray.
Other incidents also occurred with flag planting-induced skirmishes in North Carolina vs. NC State, Arizona State vs. Arizona and Florida vs. Florida State.
Mayfield, now the quarterback of the Buccaneers, was at the center of a similar controversy when he planted his Oklahoma flag on Ohio State’s turf after defeating the Buckeyes in 2017.
After the Bucs defeated the Panthers 26-23 on Sunday, Mayfield was asked about all of the flag-planting incidents from college football over this past weekend.
“OU-Texas does it every time they play. It’s not anything special. You take your L and move on. I’ll leave it at that,” Mayfield said.
A reporter asked a follow-up question about if it would be a “mistake” for the NCAA to outlaw the gesture.
“College football is meant to have rivalries. That’s like the Big 12 banning the ‘horns down’ signal. Just let the boys play,” Mayfield said, as documented by ESPN’s Jenna Laine.
Not everyone agrees with Mayfield.
ESPN’s lead college football analyst, Kirk Herbstreit, called for serious consequences for players involved with the rash of incidents this past weekend.
“I think any conference commissioner who had a team or teams involved in the postgame fights owes it to his conference and THE SPORT of CFB to study the film very closely and sit anyone who was involved in being an aggressor to help escalate the situation,” Herbstreit wrote on X.
“Sit those involved for their next game. Whether it’s a bowl game or playoff game. These dudes need consequences-for their own good!”
