Two bowl-eligible Big 12 teams are set to collide on Saturday when the Baylor Bears (4-1 in conference) pay Norman a visit to square off with the Oklahoma Sooners (3-2). The Bears are looking to remain within striking distance of the Kansas State Wildcats (5-0), who are atop the conference standings. The Sooners, meanwhile, could break into the mix with a win over Baylor.
For other college football game previews, you can click here to read Alabama vs. LSU and here for Texas A&M vs. Auburn.
Two weeks after suffering their first defeat of the season – a 41-27 loss at the hands of the West Virginia Mountaineers –, Bryce Petty and crew returned to their high-scoring ways, as the Bears thrashed the Kansas Jayhawks Saturday, 60-14.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]Baylor’s vaunted offense was in full display again against Kansas with the Bears racking up 669 total yards, more than double their 318-yard production opposite WVU back in Week 7.Petty passed more efficiently than he did against the Mountaineers, completing 15 of 27 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns with no interception.
Petty and his pack of receivers should be able to continue their success in the air next week opposite the Sooners’ secondary pieces that looks like a group of sitting ducks ready to get mauled by the Bears’ passing offense. Baylor is second in the conference with a 349.9 passing yards per game average. Conversely, the Sooners are second to the last in the Big 12 in terms of passing defense, allowing 268.4 passing yards per game.
Wideouts KD Cannon and Antwan Goodley lead the cast of Petty’s targets with 661 and 473 receiving yards thus far, respectively.
The Bears passing game will be especially important against Oklahoma as the Shock Linwood-led Baylor backfield are up against Oklahoma’s solid rushing defense, which surrenders just 122.29 yards per game.
Dating back to 2001, the Bears are 6-0 ATS in their last six games as the road team against Oklahoma.
The Sooners made the most of their opportunity against the Iowa State Cyclones’ porous defense as Oklahoma compiled 751 total yards on their way to a 59-14 win Saturday.
Trevor Knight went bonkers on the field, throwing for 230 yards and three TDs with two interceptions and did an amazing job with his legs, rushing for a team-leading 146 yards and three TDs.
Knight and the rest of the Sooners, though, know better than feel super confident heading to their upcoming battle against Baylor.
For one, the Cyclones’ defense and that of Baylor’s are galaxies apart in terms of numbers. Iowa State is second worst in the conference with 455.7 total yards allowed per game, while Baylor is the best with a much lower 325.3 clip. Furthermore, the Sooners rushing attack, which burned the turf at Ames for 510 yards isn’t likely to have even a sniff of that figure against Baylor, which limits foes to only 111.86 rushing yards per game.
Complicating things more for the Sooners is the looming absence of star wideout Sterling Shepard, who suffered a leg injury against Iowa State. Shepard is Oklahoma’s best receiver with 957 receiving yards and five touchdowns. If Shepard does indeed miss Saturday’s showdown with Baylor, then Durron Neal (339 yards, 1 TD), K.J. Young (144) and Blake Bell (132, 2 TDs) will all see an increase in targets.
The Sooners are 9-1 SU in their last 10 games as the home team.
