Krista Pirtle
Sports Editor
No. 12 Oklahoma defeated Baylor 42-34 today in Norman.
Baylor won the turnover battle, forcing two and committing none, but couldn’t win the game.
Senior quarterback Nick Florence recorded 12-of-33 for 172 yards.
None of the touchdowns came from passes.
Sophomore running back Lache Seastrunk had a hat trick with three touchdowns and 91 yards.
Florence would run for 83.
Senior wide receiver Terrance Williams would record 91 yards.
The Sooners began the game with a five-yard pass from senior quarterback Landry Jones to junior running back Brennan Clay for the early 7-0 lead.
In that set, Baylor senior linebacker Rodney Chadwick left the field with a right knee strain.
Baylor’s offense then took the field, and after eight yards of offense and 26 yards of Oklahoma penalties, junior kicker Aaron Jones set up a 58-yard field goal.
With a 26-mph wind behind him, Jones made the field goal, the longest since Jeff Ireland’s 58-yarder on Oct. 12, 1991.
The Sooners answered with another touchdown by Clay, this time off a one-yard run, making the score 14-3 to end the first quarter.
Opening up the second quarter, the Baylor defense held Oklahoma’s offense to only four downs before forcing a punt.
The Bears could not capitalize on the opportunity, and would also punt.
Baylor would again force the Sooners to punt after putting some pressure on Jones.
Florence hit sophomore receiver Levi Norwood for a 37-yard gain, a career-long catch for Norwood.
The Bears would follow that up with a five-yard rush by Florence for the Baylor touchdown.
On Oklahoma’s next possession, Baylor’s defense would completely lose freshman receiver Sterling Shephard, gaining 29 yards on the play and setting up a three-yard rushing touchdown by junior running back Damien Williams.
The Bears would answer, taking almost six minutes off the clock, with a running attack from the “Thunder,” junior running back Glasco Martin and “Lightning,” sophomore Lache Seastrunk.
Seastrunk would capitalize with a three-yard touchdown run to make the score 21-17 in favor of Oklahoma.
However, whatever momentum was gained with that score was lost to a 36-yard kick return to the Baylor 45 yard-line by Clay to set up a 35-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Justin Brown.
Oklahoma claimed a 28-17 lead over Baylor at the half.
The Bears would start the half with a 56-yard reception by senior wide receiver Terrance Williams.
Baylor could not get into the end zone, though, and had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Jones, making the score 28-20.
The Oklahoma special teams, fifth in the country in kickoff returns, helped out the Sooner offense.
Junior running back Roy Finch caught the ball around the 20-yard line and returned it 36 yards to the Baylor 39.
That field position wouldn’t mean anything for Oklahoma, however, as junior linebacker Eddie Lackey forced a fumble and junior defensive end Terrance Lloyd recovered it, setting up the Baylor offense at its own 40-yard line.
Nothing would come from the turnover, however, as Florence struggled with the wind, overcompensating for it and overthrowing Williams deep.
On fourth down, Florence let the ball slip from his hand, giving the ball right back to the Sooners.
The Baylor defense would step up again as senior safety Mike Hicks intercepted a pass and returned it 24 yards to the Oklahoma 28 yard-line.
Seastrunk would cap off the drive with a two-yard touchdown run up the middle.
Baylor would op for two and run the option, Norwood flipping the ball to Martin.
He would be stopped short of the goal line, making the score 28-26.
Oklahoma would answer with a 17-yard touchdown run by Williams, extending its lead to 35-26 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
To start out the fourth quarter, sophomore quarterback Blake Bell bulldozed 55 yards through the Baylor defense for the touchdown, the longest by an Oklahoma quarterback since 1998. This made the score 42-26.
It looked as if Baylor would answer when junior receiver Tevin Reese completely missed a pass from Florence in the end zone.
Deep into Oklahoma’s next drive, sophomore linebacker Bryce Hager sacked Jones for a loss of 10 yards for the first time in the game.
The Bears blitzed both Hager and junior safety Sam Holl. All game long, Baylor played it safe until then.
On Baylor’s last drive of the game, Florence had many receivers open down the field, but he just could not connect with them.
Florence would take the quarterback draw multiple times, and sophomore receiver Clay Fuller would have a big 10-yard reception to set up a six-yard touchdown run for Seastrunk, his third of the game.
Baylor would set up for the two-point conversion, but Oklahoma would get called for pass interference, setting the ball up for Baylor at the three-yard line.
Florence would run the quarterback draw for the two points, making the score 42-34 with 1:26 remaining.
The Bears would set up for their first onside kick of the season, but Oklahoma would recover it and end the game.
