Oklahoma football: Previewing Baylor at Oklahoma

Oklahoma football meets Baylor this weekend in what could be a shootout in Norman.

After escaping with a 28-21 win over Army last week, Oklahoma football is through with non-conference play. Now they turn their focus to Baylor.

The Bears come in with a 3-1 record and fresh off a 26-7 victory over Kansas. They will challenge the Sooners in ways Oklahoma hasn’t seen so far this season.

When Baylor has the ball

This might be the best offense Oklahoma has seen so far this season. Charlie Brewer has taken over the quarterback job and he inherits a plethora of talent at the wide receiver position.

Denzel Mims torched the Sooners last year with 12 catches for 191 yards and three touchdowns, but he might not be the most talented receiver on the Bears’ roster. Tennessee transfer Jalen Hurd, who Sooner fans might remember from Oklahoma’s home-and-home series with the Vols in 2014-15, has transformed his body, shedding 30 pounds to become one of the most underrated receivers in the country. Chris Platt, who caught five passes for 93 yards against the Sooners a year ago, is also back.

Oklahoma currently ranks 64th in the country in pass defense with 211 yards per game allowed. That number could get higher if the Sooners can’t generate pressure on Brewer.

The good news is the Bears aren’t great up front. They are tied for 70th in the country in sacks allowed and rank 66th in rushing yards per game. The Sooners could also be getting some reinforcements back in the form of Marquise Overton and Tyreece Lott. Both have missed time with injuries in the past few weeks, but could return to the rotation this week.

“I think for both those guys it’ll be in the near future,” Riley told the Daily Oklahoman. “I think we’re talking more days now instead of weeks. I think that’s a good sign. I don’t think it’s anything long term. Just a lingering issue that we’re about to get over the hump with.”

This game is an opportunity for a statement from the Sooners defensive line. Oklahoma currently ranks 18th in the country in tackles for loss per game.  They will have to create some negative plays to keep the Baylor offense off schedule.

Look for OU to bring delayed blitzes from different positions and use twists and stunts up front to create havoc on obvious passing downs.

When Oklahoma has the ball

The Sooners plowed the Bears for more than 300 yards on the ground the last time these two teams met  what turned out to be Trey Sermon‘s coming out party. Sermon – then a true freshman – gouged the Bears for 148 yards on just 12 carries. He’ll likely see more touches than that as the Sooners look to establish ground dominance on a Bears group that ranks 76th in the country against the run.

Could we see T.J. Pledger have his big breakout game this week? The true freshman has seen time in every game the Sooners have played so far this year, but has yet to produce in meaningful situations. He’ll get his opportunities to do that against the Bears.

Kyler Murray and his receiving group have been stellar all year. The Sooners rank fourth in the country in passing efficiency, but could see some resistance against a Baylor group that ranks 40th  against the pass.

Marquise Brown was held without a catch against Army and his one target was intercepted. He could be poised for a big day.

Special teams

The Sooners weren’t particularly great on special teams against Army. They never could get their return game going after wowing in the previous weeks and a missed field goal at the end of regulation forced them to go to overtime.

Austin Seibert’s pysche will be an area of concern. Like golfers, kickers can become their own worst enemy when something like this goes wrong. Hopefully the Sooners get an opportunity to get Seibert on the field to make some kicks and get his confidence back.

This could be the kind of game where a big special teams play breaks things wide open. Look for Oklahoma to get the returning Tre Brown involved in the kick return game and maybe even a trick play to garner some momentum.

Prediction

This is a statement game for Mike Stoops’ defense. It has been beat up in the media after a pair of shaky performances against Iowa State and Army. The group will get a chance to silence its critics and get a little revenge against a Baylor team that lit the Sooners up a year ago.

The offense was frustrated by limited possessions last week, but shouldn’t run into that problem against Baylor. Oklahoma will get plenty of explosive plays from Kyler Murray and company and should have no problem eclipsing the 40-point mark in this game.

The Sooners always seem to play well when they have something to prove. Look for Oklahoma to go on the attack on defense and put Brewer in some tough spots. Baylor will hit a few big plays, but the Sooners will be more sound than they have been the past few weeks, holding the Bears 24 points and getting in on the action themselves with a defensive touchdown.

Oklahoma separates from Baylor in the second half for a 49-24 victory.