BAYLOR’S BIG TEST
CAN THE BEARS REMAIN PERFECT AS THE SOONERS COME TO WACO?
Keys for Oklahoma
Build a lead: Baylor’s offense isn’t explosive. It managed just nine points in regulation against TCU and 17 in a three-point win over West Virginia. Oklahoma averages nearly a first down per play. The Sooners need to score quickly and often, which will put Baylor’s offense in a tough bind. The Bears want to make this an alley fight. Oklahoma needs to make it a track meet. The higher the score, the better for Lincoln Riley’s squad. Pressure Charlie Brewer: The Oklahoma defense remains the weak point of this football program. The defense can’t hold up over four quarters against a quality football team that pounds the football. We watched the Sooners lose to Kansas State and nearly lose to Iowa State due to its lack of depth and talent on the defensive side of the ball. The way to overcome that is by doing what Oklahoma did against Texas: Get to the quarterback.
Keys for Baylor
Get off the football field: It’s impossible to imagine Baylor stopping Oklahoma’s offense. The Sooners will score and move up-and-down the football field, however, there will be some opportunities for the Baylor defense to get off the field on critical third downs. Baylor must take advantage of any mistakes by the Oklahoma offense. That happens by winning first and second down, forcing Oklahoma into passing situations on third-and-long.
Stick to the run: It could get easy for Baylor to abandon the script and get into a shootout with Oklahoma if the Sooners score early. The Bears want this to be a four-quarter football game that resembles a slugfest. That can’t happen if Baylor is sucked into playing at Oklahoma’s pace. Think of this like a basketball game. Baylor wants to be methodical and find good shots after moving the ball around. Oklahoma wants it to be a full-court press. The team that controls the pace wins the game.
Prediction
Oklahoma 34, Baylor 24: The Bears finally drop a game when Oklahoma comes to Waco. The Sooners offense is too much and Baylor has been escaping close losses for a couple of weeks. Oklahoma is a step-up in competition compared to everything else Matt Rhule’s program has seen this year, and the Sooners will score too many points for the Brewer-led Baylor offense to match.