Few teams have been more impressive over the last month than No. 12 Oklahoma. The Sooners have just been steamrolling through everyone put in front of them, with their resurgent running game leading the way.
They now travel to Waco to face the undefeated No. 4 Baylor Bears, who weren’t quite at their best in freshman quarterback Jarrett Stidham’s first career start.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]The Oklahoma Sooners sure have recovered from their shock Red River Shootout loss to Texas. Since that loss a month ago, the Sooners have proceeded to stomp all over their last four opponents.
The Sooners shut out Kansas State, 55-0, in Manhattan; outgunned Texas Tech, 63-27; rocked the Kansas Jayhawks, 62-7; and blew away the Iowa State Cyclones, 52-16. Unsurprisingly, they went 4-0 ATS in those four games.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield has been terrific in orchestrating the passing game. He’s completing 76 percent of his passes with a 14-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in those four games. However, the big development in that dominating four-game run has been the revitalization of the running game within the Air Raid offense. The Sooners have averaged a blistering 290 rushing yards per game, with 14 rushing touchdowns.
An effective running game will be a vital weapon for Oklahoma on the road against Baylor, as it’ll help burn the clock and keep the explosive Bears offense off the field. That, in turn, will be a big help for the Sooners defense, which has also played very well this season and could be the most well-equipped to slow down Baylor’s attack. Oklahoma is No. 1 in the Big 12 in both scoring defense and passing defense.
Oklahoma is also tied for second with 11 interceptions, and should be able to force some mistakes from Baylor’s freshman quarterback if it can put him under pressure with the pass rush. The Sooners are No. 2 in the Big 12 in sacks.
Baylor had a bit of a scare on Thursday night at Kansas State. The Wildcats scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to make the score 31-24, but the Bears held on to give freshman quarterback Jarrett Stidham a win in his first career start in place of the injured Seth Russell.
Stidham had some shiny numbers, as he went 23-of-33 for 419 passing yards and accounted for four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing). He could only lead the explosive Baylor offense to 31 points, though, the team’s lowest output since its 41-27 loss at West Virginia on October last season. Stidham also wasn’t helped by a running game that could only produce 102 yards on 24 carries.
Although Stidham didn’t light the world on fire, he should still be credited for handling the pressure of making his first start on the road reasonably well. Expect him to be a bit calmer and more composed as he makes his home debut against Oklahoma.
Stidham’s life should be made much easier with the help of star wideout Corey Coleman, who has been a touchdown machine this season. He already has 20 receiving touchdowns, which is far and away the most in the nation and five shy of the Big 12 record. 15 of those 20 touchdowns have come in Waco.
Since Art Briles became the head coach of Baylor, the Bears have gone 5-2 ATS against Oklahoma, and covered the last four meetings in a row. The Baylor defense has been very impressive in the past two meetings against the Sooners, limiting them to 26 total points.
Writer’s Prediction
Thanks to its running game and defense, Oklahoma pulls off the upset as it beats Baylor, 42-35.
