NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma can finally talk about Ohio State.Baker Mayfield passed for 244 yards and three touchdowns in a half of work, and the 14th-ranked Sooners beat Louisiana-Monroe 59-17 on Saturday night in a warmup for their showdown with the Buckeyes.Oklahoma lost its opener to Houston and fell from No. 3 to No. 14 in the AP poll , but its home matchup with fourth-ranked Ohio State next week offers a chance to return to its place among the nations top teams.Theyre obviously a good program, Mayfield said. Everybody knows that. I feel confident in what were doing right now, and I think were going to keep progressing. I think itll be a good matchup.Mayfield took the blame for the loss to Houston, saying he forced throws at times in the second half and took too many sacks. He bounced back well.Baker, I thought, was really decisive and quick getting the ball out in a lot of spots, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. Threw it really well.Joe Mixon rushed for 117 yards, and Samaje Perine ran for two touchdowns as the Sooners (1-1) outgained the Warhawks (1-1) 640 yards to 350.Garrett Smith passed for 251 yards and two touchdowns and R.J. Turner caught seven passes for 135 yards for ULM. Smith was a dual threat in the opener when he ran for 150 yards and a touchdown in a win over Southern. He was one-dimensional against the Sooners, finishing with five yards on six carries.Mayfield completed 10 of 11 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter to help the Sooners take a 21-0 lead.Mark Andrews opened the scoring with a 39-yard touchdown grab. Andrews has four receptions this season, including three for touchdowns. Dimitri Flowers added an 8-yard touchdown catch, then Perines 1-yard blast up the middle made it 21-0.Things obviously werent going our way in the first half, and we were overmatched and playing against a good football team, ULM coach Matt Viator said.Austin Kendall replaced Mayfield in the second half, and he passed for 108 yards and two touchdowns.As much as anything, (it was about) keeping Baker healthy in the situation were in, and Austins a true freshman who needs to play, Stoops said.THE TAKEAWAYLOUISIANA-MONROE: The Warhawks felt they defended better in the second half, though they were playing against mostly reserves. Both teams scored 17 points after the break.Hopefully, we got a little bit better and learned something tonight to use for next week, Viator said.OKLAHOMA: The Sooners re-established their run game. They gained just 70 yards on 26 carries against Houston, but bounced back with 288 yards on 46 attempts against ULM. Mixon, a sophomore, finished with the third-highest rushing yardage total of his career.Perines two touchdowns gave him 39 in his career, tying him with Joe Washington for seventh in school history.I thought Joe and Samaje did a great job early, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said. I thought we really played well up front. We had good balance offensively.PREGAME FOCUSOklahomas coaching staff was concerned about how many big plays the Sooners cornerbacks gave up against Houston. He said aside from two busted coverages in the third quarter that resulted in long touchdown catches of 73 yards by Turner and 43 yards by Alec Osborne, the Sooners defended the pass well on Saturday. Aside from those two plays, ULM passed for just 156 yards.RUSSELL WESTBROOKOklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook attended the game and drew a loud cheer when he was shown on the video board. Mayfield entered the postgame press conference with a T-shirt with the phrase, In Russ We Trust on the front.RECORD CROWDThe announced attendance of 87,037 was a record for the stadium. The south end had been partially open since the stadium opened in 1923, but an upgrade turned it into a bowl and added an 8,500 square-foot video board and luxury seating.UP NEXTLOUISIANA-MONROE: at Georgia Southern.OKLAHOMA: Hosts Ohio State in a game the Sooners must win to have a realistic shot at returning to the College Football Playoff.---AP college football website: collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP Bill Hewitt Jersey Ed Brown Jersey . 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The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. DETROIT -- For six straight seasons, Northern Illinois has played in the Mid-American Conference championship game. The Huskies havent always won, but theyve always made it there, no matter how strong a challenge theyve faced from others in their division.This year its Western Michigan that looks ready to provide the sternest test. The Broncos were overwhelming favorites to win the conference in the preseason media poll, although WMU coach P.J. Fleck was quick to steer attention back toward Northern Illinois.We have a team in the West thats won six straight championships and they dont get picked. You got to be kidding me. Theyve won six straight, Fleck said. I dont understand that.Western Michigan went 8-5 last season and returns quarterback Zach Terrell and receiver Corey Davis. WMU lost only two conference games in 2015 -- against Northern Illinois and Bowling Green, the two teams who played for the MAC title.NIU has won the conference three times during its streak of six title-game appearances. Bowling Green beat the Huskies for the championship last season and in 2013. In fact, Bowling Green is working on its own streak of three trips to the title game in Detroit.Western Michigan hasnt played in the MAC championship game since 2000 and hasnt won the conference since 1988. Fleck has been WMUs coach for three seasons, and the Broncos improved quickly after going 1-11 in 2013.THE FAVORITESEast: Bowling Green finished two points ahead of Ohio in the preseason poll, and the teams play at Ohio on Oct. 8. Bowling Green must replace star quarterback Matt Johnson, and its schedule also includes road games against Northern Illinois and Toledo.West: The key game in this division could come the same day as in the East. Western Michigan hosts Northern Illinois on Oct. 8. The Huskies reached the title game last year despite an injury to quarterback Drew Hare. Toledo and Central Michigan round out a foursome that actually finished tied for the divisionn title last season.ddddddddddddCMU plays WMU, NIU and Toledo in October, meaning the league race could take several turns before Halloween.TOP PLAYERSShawun Lurry, DB, Northern Illinois. Third-team All-American had nine interceptions a season ago.Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan. Caught 90 passes for 1,436 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.Kareem Hunt, RB, Toledo. Rushed for 973 yards in only nine games in 2015 after running for 1,631 the previous season.Cooper Rush, QB, Central Michigan. Completed 66 percent of his passes last year for 3,848 yards with 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.Austin Valdez, LB, Bowling Green. Had 144 tackles and two interceptions in 2015.Joel Bouagnon, RB, Northern Illinois. Rushed for 1,285 yards and 18 touchdowns last season.NEW FACESJason Candle, Toledo. Took over as coach of the Rockets after Matt Campbell went to Iowa State. Toledo was favored to unseat Northern Illinois in the West last year but couldnt do it.Mike Jinks, Bowling Green. The former Texas Tech assistant is now the coach of the defending MAC champions.Mike Neu, Ball State. The Cardinals are trying to bounce back from a 3-9 season, and they hired one of their former players as coach. Neu played quarterback at Ball State from 1990-93.ON THE HOT SEATPaul Haynes, Kent State. The Golden Flashes lost only one starter on offense, and this is the fourth season in charge for Haynes, who has gone 9-26 so far at Kent State.PREDICTIONEast: Ohio takes advantage of a more favorable schedule than Bowling Green and returns to the MAC title game for the first time since 2011.West: Western Michigan ends Northern Illinois run in the division and wins the league championship, cementing Flecks status as a young coach on the rise.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister---AP college football website: collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '