Last season, Jerome Baker got thrown into the fire against Oklahoma.
Baker was not even supposed to be a starter in 2016, but after Dante Booker injured his knee in the team's opener against Bowling Green, he was the next man up.
After getting his feet wet against Bowling Green and starting his first game against Tulsa, Baker faced probably the biggest game of his life, on the road against a top-15 opponent and a Heisman candidate at quarterback.
"What people don’t know, my biggest motivation that game was that his name is Baker. It was like, ‘I’m the real Baker.’"– Jerome Baker
Baker's job that night was to spy Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman hopeful Baker Mayfield on third down. Mayfield is one of the best scrambling quarterbacks in the country and can beat you with his arm as well as his legs. Baker was to keep tabs on him all night, and ensure that didn't happen.
It seemed like a tall task for a player making his second career start, but that game turned out to be a coming out party for Baker. He finished with seven total tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for a loss and of course his memorable pick-six:
It was a big game, and Baker rose to the occasion. But a few months later, the linebacker revealed he had some hidden motivation that was a bit more personal.
"What people don’t know, my biggest motivation that game was that his name is Baker," Baker said in the spring. "It was like, ‘I’m the real Baker.’ So that was like my personal motivation."
From the numbers, it seems Baker won the battle. While the linebacker had one of the more memorable games of his career, Mayfield had his worst passing performance of the season, going 17-for-32 for 226 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and wasn't able to create anything with his legs either, rushing for just five yards on eight attempts.
Baker said the Buckeyes are going to have a similar plan on Saturday.
"You just gotta contain him," Baker said. "You can’t stop guys like that, you can only contain them.”
Baker was quick to point out that while he may get the final tackle, most of the credit goes to the unit lined up in front of him.
"The D-line, they did most of the work. I just benefitted from it," Baker said. "Spying the quarterback – people don’t see the defensive line going crazy, just doing what they do, and I just run Baker Mayfield down.”
Though Baker may be underselling himself just a bit, because he might be one of the only linebackers in the country that can make running Baker Mayfield down look and sound simple.
