Oklahoma Football Point After: Takeaways From Saturday’s Bear Hunt
By Chip Rouse
One down, two more to go for Oklahoma football in 2016. That’s what remains on the Sooners’ regular season schedule and all that stands between the Sooners and a 10th Big 12 championship in the 21-year history of the conference.
The Sooners brushed aside the visitors from Baylor on Saturday, handing the struggling Bears their third consecutive conference loss after six straight wins to begin the season. It was the 12th time in 13 games played in Norman that Baylor has lost to Oklahoma. The Bears’ lone road win over OU was two seasons ago, in 2014, when they hammered the Sooners 48-14.
Sooner quarterback Baker Mayfield orchestrated his second win in as many seasons over the Bears, completing 20 of 25 passes for 300 yards on Saturday. His two touchdown passes, both to Dede Westbrook, gives his 33 for the season, tied for fifth most in the nation.
For the second season in a row, Oklahoma is playing the three best teams in the conference in its final three regular season games. Last season, the Sooners finished out with wins over Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State. This season the three-game gauntlet consists of Baylor, followed by the Sooners’ two biggest challengers in 2016: West Virginia and Oklahoma State. The latter two teams have a combined overall record this season of 16-3, a conference mark of 11-2 and are both ranked in the top 15 nationally this week.
Here are the prime observations from Oklahoma’s win over Baylor, the Sooners seventh Big 12 victory without a loss this season:
OU Offense Continues to Perform at a Very High Level
Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon were together in the Sooner backfield this past weekend for the first time since the Kansas State game. Perine missed the three games prior to Baylor with a pulled hamstring muscle. Mixon did not play a week ago at Iowa State, serving a one-game suspension. Both were back on the field against Baylor, and both reached the century mark in rushing yards vs. the Bears.
OU rushed for a total of 266 yards in the game. The Sooners are now 81-2 under Bob Stoops when they rush for more than 200 yards in a game.
This is the seventh time in 10 games this season that Oklahoma has exceeded 500 yards of offense in a game.
The Sooner Defense Has Played Better the Past Three Games
In its last three games – wins over Kansas, Iowa State and Baylor – Oklahoma has given up an average of 17 points a game and forced five turnovers (four interceptions and one fumble). The Sooners had only seven total takeaways in their first seven games.
Senior linebacker Jordan Evans had two interceptions against Baylor and one against Kansas. He has three of OU’s seven interceptions on the season, and two of Evans’ picks have been returned for touchdowns.
The Sooners have been playing very solid run defense. They are allowing 132 yards a game on the ground, second best in the Big 12. That will be important against West Virginia, which likes to run the ball and averages 211 yards rushing per contest.
And what more can you say about quarterback Baker Mayfield? He completed 80 percent of his 25 passes on Saturday for 300 yards and two touchdowns.
Ball Control Has Become an Additional Defensive Weapon
In Oklahoma’s last two games. the Sooners had a 14-minute advantage in time of possession against Iowa State an d held the ball 12 minutes longer than Baylor in the win this past weekend. When the offense is able to sustain drives and stay on the field, it not only provides rest to the Sooner defense, but keeps the opponents’ offense off the field and helps take pressure off the defense. Baylor actually ran 17 more plays than Oklahoma did (91 to 74), even though the Sooners had the ball 12 minutes longer than the Bears did.
Dede Westbrook Deserves Heisman Recognition
After three games this season, wide receiver Dede Westbrook had 17 catches for a total of 154 yards, an average of 8.7 yards per reception. Since then, however, Westbrook has been performing like a man possessed.
In his last seven games, Westbrook has 51 receptions for 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns. The senior wide receiver is averaging 18.4 yards per catch, and he has caught 10 touchdown passes of 40 yards or longer. He has four TD catches of 65 yards or longer this season. That is more than 112 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams in 2016.
He had six targets and four receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns in the win Saturday over Baylor. That snapped a six-game streak in which Westbrook had produced over 100 receiving yards.
His 14 receiving touchdowns is tied for third nationally, and his per-game average of 125.4 receiving yards is best in the Big 12 and fifth best in the country in 2016.
Westbrook has already exceeded Sterling Shepard’s best season at Oklahoma (2015). He is 34 yards behind Shepard’s 1,288 receiving yards, but Westbrook’s 14 touchdown catches is already three better than Shepard’s 11 and his 18.4 average yards per catch is better than Shepard’s 15.0 average a year ago.
Westbrook has 88 receptions through 10 games. Shepard, Oklahoma’s second leading receiver all-time, had 86 in 13 games last season.