AP Player of the Year finalists: Mayfield, Love, Jackson

Posted December 06, 2017 6:00 am

By RALPH D. RUSSO

FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2017, file photo, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) runs against Baylor during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Waco, Texas. Mayfield is favored to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File) The Associated Press

Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, Stanford running back Bryce Love and Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson are the finalists for The Associated Press college football Player of the Year.

The winner will be announced Thursday. The finalists are the same as those for the Heisman Trophy, which will be presented Saturday.

Mayfield has led the No. 2 Sooners to the College Football Playoff, where they will play No. 3 Georgia in the Rose Bowl. Mayfield leads the nation in passer efficiency rating and has thrown for 4,340 yards and 41 touchdowns.

Love is second in the nation in rushing at 164.2 yards per game on 8.32 yards per carry for the 15th-ranked Cardinal.

Jackson, last year's Heisman winner, leads the nation in total offense at 411 yards per game.

The AP player of the year has been awarded since 1998. Last year's winner was Jackson. Oklahoma has had three previous winners: quarterback Josh Heupel in 2001, quarterback Jason White in 2003 and quarterback Sam Bradford in 2008. Stanford's only AP player of the year was Christian McCaffrey in 2015, one of five players to be AP player of the year but not win the Heisman.

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More college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2017, file photo, Stanford running back Bryce Love (20) runs in front of Southern California safety Chris Hawkins (4) during the first half of the Pac-12 Conference championship NCAA college football game in Santa Clara, Calif. Love, Louisville's Lamar Jackson and Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield were chosen as finalists for the Heisman Trophy on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) The Associated Press

FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2017, file photo, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) scrambles past Kentucky defensive tackle Kordell Looney during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Lexington, Ky. Jackson, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and Stanford running back Bryce Love were chosen as finalists for the Heisman Trophy on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/David Stephenson, File) The Associated Press

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