Rod Aydelotte | Associated Press
By Daniel Hill
Sports Writer
The Baylor Bears are 0-26 all time on the road against top 25 opponents in the Big 12. This does not bode well for them in their trip to Norman to take on the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners. The Bears, 4-4 (1-4), won a conference game last week over the Kansas Jayhawks 41-14. This week presents a much tougher task because the Bears will be on the road to face the 6-2 (4-1) Sooners.
Senior quarterback Landry Jones leads the Oklahoma offense. Jones holds several career records for the Sooners. He is the team’s all-time career leader in passing yards with 12,218 and counting. To put that into perspective, Sam Bradford, the former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback and No. 1 overall draft pick, only threw for 8,403 yards in his Oklahoma career.
“Landry is tall, has a great arm, and works under a great system,” Baylor head coach Art Briles said. He is a three-year starter and has won more games then anyone else in OU history. They are a rhythm team and they allow him to get the ball out of his hand very quickly. He is an exceptional quarterback, and it is kind of surprising that he stayed for this season.”
Not only does Oklahoma have a passing offense, but they have an established rushing attack as well. Junior running back Brennan Clay made his first start of the season last week against Iowa State and rushed for 157 yards on 24 carries. Clay is prepared to face the 117th overall Baylor defense.
“Their defense does give up a little bit of points,” Clay said. “It’s probably because they’re on the field so much. It’s going to be a good game; it’s probably going to be a shootout.”
Defensively, Oklahoma boasts the 17th best scoring defense in the nation and only gives up 17.8 points per game.
“They are good,” Briles said. “They didn’t wake up and just get good today; they have been good for a long time. They are very physical, very talented, and they are schemed up very well.”
After losing to Baylor last season in dramatic fashion, the Sooners are ready for a rematch on their home field.
The returning members of the Baylor football team know what it’s like to beat Oklahoma from last year and they hope they can do it again this season.
“We absolutely have confidence from last year,” senior quarterback Nick Florence said. “We beat them last year and it’s a good deal and we will feed off of that, but at the same time, it’s a totally different year and we are a totally different team and they are a totally different team. So yeah, we beat them last year, that’s great, but it’s a new year. It’s a new time and let’s write a new chapter this year.”
Oklahoma is nearly a 20-point favorite over Baylor. It’ll be a tough task for the Bears to go into Norman and leave with a victory.
The bottom line is that when Baylor wins the turnover battle, then it tends to win the game. The Bears turnover differential in wins is plus eight and in losses it’s minus 11. Against Kansas last week, the Bears defense had two interceptions and the offense did not turn the ball over. The Baylor rushing attack found its stride last week as junior Glasco Martin and sophomore Lache Seastrunk combined to rush for 260 yards.
The Bears defeated Oklahoma last year. It’ll be a tough test in order to come away with a victory this season.
