In a weekend that saw college football wrap its regular season with dramatic flair, Baker Mayfield’s insights seemed to hit just the right note. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback, well-known for his own iconic flag-planting moment back in 2017 after Oklahoma toppled Ohio State, was posed a question about the recent surge of similar antics across the sport. Rivalry week saw its share of high-octane confrontations topped with celebratory flag planting and even on-field chaos, most notably during Michigan’s clash with Ohio State, where tensions flared to the point of requiring police intervention.

When asked for his take following the Bucs’ narrow victory over the Carolina Panthers, Mayfield didn’t shy away from the topic. Instead, he framed the tradition of college football rivalries as essential, likening attempts to curb these expressions to the prohibition of the ‘horns down’ signal in the Big 12. “Let the boys play,” he stated, capturing the spirit of competitive college football.

Mayfield’s candid response shouldn’t surprise those familiar with his history. After all, he’s not one to back down from controversy, especially when he’s been at the heart of it before. In Sunday’s matchup, he had another strong performance despite a couple of hiccups, completing 21 of his 33 pass attempts, throwing for one touchdown against two interceptions, and steering his team toward a sixth win of the season with a 26-23 finish over the Panthers.

His take on the flag-planting scenario underscores his authenticity—Mayfield knows the role rivalries play in the game and the passion they evoke. For a player whose past antics have etched themselves into the folklore of college football’s storied rivalries, his message was clear: Rivalries fuel the fire of competition, and it’s all part of what makes the game so compelling.