Baylor Dominates Oklahoma
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NORMAN, Okla. — Baylor finally broke through on the road.
The No. 12 Bears dominated No. 15 Oklahoma for most of the day, dismantling the Sooners 48-14 on Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty threw for 387 yards and a touchdown and receiver Corey Coleman had 15 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score.
After Baylor’s win a week earlier against Kansas, Petty answered every postgame question by saying he was “ready for OU.”
“There was something about this game,” Petty said after leading Baylor to its first-ever win in Norman. “This game, for me, was circled, dotted, starred — whatever you want to call it — on the calendar. I don’t like to make that public because every game’s a big game, but I really wanted to win this game.”
In coach Art Briles’ rebuilding process with the Bears — bringing the team from perennial cellar-dweller to national contender — about the only thing missing from the resume was a win on the road against a top-25 team.
Baylor hadn’t beaten a ranked team in a true road environment since 1991.
“It was the first time we felt challenged all year,” Briles said. “We really should have
felt that way through the year, but we just didn’t. This was the first time that we came into a game and felt that we’d have to play our best to have a chance to win. Our guys rose up to the challenge.”
The win keeps the Bears (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) in the mix for the conference 12 title. Baylor beat TCU earlier in the season and hosts Kansas State to finish the season.
“It means everything,” Petty said. “The coolest part about it is that it’s just the tip of the iceberg for this team. People say, ‘Y’all are still Baylor.’ And it’s like, ‘Yeah, we are Baylor. This is different.'”
Oklahoma (6-3, 3-3) had lost by 10 points or more just once at home during head coach Bob Stoops’ 16 years with the Sooners. That game, against Notre Dame in 2012, was close into the fourth quarter before the Fighting Irish pulled away late.
On Saturday, there was no doubt about the result from the early moments of the second quarter.
The Bears came out and methodically moved right down the field with nine consecutive pass completions against a Sooners defense that stayed back off Baylor’s receivers.
Then Baylor used another wide receiver, Coleman, to carry the ball in from a yard out to put the Bears up 31-14 as boos rained down from the sold-out crowd.
Petty completed his first 14 passes of the second half.
“He was just distributing the ball and we couldn’t sack him, we couldn’t tackle him, we couldn’t, you know, just in space we struggled,” Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. “In hindsight, you’ve got to take your chances and you’ve got to tighten up and you’ve got to force them into making an accurate throw.”
Early, it was Oklahoma that looked like it was poised to control the game.
The Sooners led 14-3 before Petty and the Bears’ offense got going with a third-down conversion on the first play of the second quarter.
Baylor converted a fourth-down try later in that same drive and finished it off with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Petty to Coleman.
Sooners quarterback Trevor Knight started strong but in Oklahoma territory, made an ill-advised throw that landed right in the chest of Bears linebacker Bryce Hager. Hager returned the ball to the OU 1 and a play later, Baylor led 17-14.
“We knew coming into this game we were going to have to create our own energy,” Hager said. “Finding the momentum sparked it, our offense started rolling and we started getting more three-and-outs. I think that was one of those game-changing momentum swings.”
The Bears had just one more drive in the half — a 16-play, 80-yard drive for a touchdown — to take a 24-14 lead into the break.
The loss was Oklahoma’s worst at home since Nov. 15, 1997 when Texas A&M beat the Sooners 51-7.
“I take full responsibility,” Bob Stoops said. “It all starts with me. So I didn’t do a good enough job.”
