"Mark Clayton's mother, JacQuetta, has his national championship ring in a display case at her home in Grand Prairie. He was a redshirt during his first year at Oklahoma in 2000, when the Sooners won their most recent national title.

Clayton, now a starting receiver with the Baltimore Ravens, might keep his Super Bowl ring if the Ravens win the title this year.

"That's what the season is about," Clayton said in a telephone interview. "Everything else doesn't matter really. All the training camps, all the minicamps, that's what we're doing: We're working to be the best team in the NFL, and the best team in the NFL holds up the Lombardi Trophy."

The Ravens (12-5) beat the Miami Dolphins 27-9 in the wild-card round to advance to today's divisional-round game against the Tennessee Titans (13-3). Although the Ravens, as the AFC's sixth seed, are 3-point underdogs, Clayton likes his team's chances.

As Clayton points out, the Ravens started the season with a rookie quarterback, a rookie head coach and a new offensive system. Thus, "nobody in the world" gave them a chance even to get this far. They faced odds of around 50-1 to win Super Bowl XLIII.

Now, as one of eight teams remaining, the Ravens' odds are far better.

The Ravens were here two years ago, favored in a home game against the Indianapolis Colts after going 13-3 in the regular season. They lost 15-6 in the divisional round. It took Clayton weeks to get over the loss, and it didn't help when he ran into some Colts players wearing their new, sparkly $5,000 Super Bowl rings.

"It is tough to go so far and be right there and get kicked out," Clayton said. "We understand all the work that we put in, and the time and the effort and the energy, to create this opportunity. Now, it's about taking advantage of the opportunity."

Clayton isn't the stereotypical receiver, a loud-mouthed self-promoter. Off the field, he is heavily involved in charitable activities through his Mark Clayton Foundation, including feeding more than 600 people in Baltimore every Thanksgiving.

On the field, Clayton is all about the bottom line.

His stats in his four seasons - 200 receptions, 2,636 yards, 10 touchdowns - don't matter to him nearly as much as the team's record - 36-30, including the playoffs.

"He does a lot of things, blocking-wise, route running, whatever it takes," Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said.

Clayton, 26, is the same as he ever was.

While at Arlington Sam Houston, Clayton was asked to switch from quarterback to receiver. With Brandon Hassell at quarterback and Clayton and Shirdonya Mitchell at receiver, the Texans went on to lead the state in total offense in 1999. Hassell, who played at TCU, threw for 2,522 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior, while Mitchell, who went to Missouri, caught 64 passes for 1,094 yards and nine touchdowns. Clayton had 55 receptions for 831 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed 17 times for 110 yards