By KEVIN LONNQUIST
Publisher
No. 12 Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) defeated No. 6 (8-1, 5-1), 44-34, Saturday night at McLane Stadium. The loss pretty much erases Baylor’s national playoff hopes. However, it does not end conference championship aspirations. What also does end is Baylor’s 20-game FBS home winning streak. That was the longest in the nation. The crowd of 49,875 was also the largest in McLane Stadium history.
So what did the Publisher think?
>When it comes to losses, we become consumed on what the hometown heroes didn’t do and either don’t acknowledge or don’t accept what the opposition did. You won’t get that from your publisher.
>Look for the CFB Playoff Committee to hit Baylor hard in the rankings. The committee dared the Bears to win these games and prove they belonged as one of the nation's top four. Baylor didn't have an answer.
>Baylor had a lot of players suffer injuries. Back Blackshear injured his right knee in the first half and didn’t return. Both safeties Orion Stewart and Chance Waz didn’t return from injuries. Quarterback Jarrett Stidham gutted through a back injury that he suffered on the first series of the game. Andrew Billings continued to nurse through his sprained ankle. Shawn Oakman had his own knee injury. That’s the game. It happens. That’s not why Oklahoma beat Baylor.
>The big explosive plays are fun to watch. They’re really more fun to watch when the offensive line is making it all possible. Those were few and far between because the dye had been cast. And this is why Oklahoma beat Baylor.
>This game was a result of what was an unsettling subplot from last week against Kansas State. The concerns in both Baylor’s offensive and defensive lines were completely exposed by Oklahoma’s better collection of talent. I’m going to tell it plain: Outside of the first possession of each half, Oklahoma’s defensive line abused Baylor’s offensive line throughout. Heck, I’m going to rip the band aid. They kicked their a**. Led by Charles Tapper, this foursome just got after this veteran group and made it look a step slow. And if you disagree with me, then you and I were watching two different games. Oklahoma had eight tackles for loss to go with two sacks. The Sooners were credited with only two QB pressures. But they made things uncomfortable enough.
>We can talk about play calling this and play calling that. There weren’t check downs. Shock Linwood caught two passes for four yards. There wasn’t much underneath. But when you’re watching an OU defensive front pretty much have its way snap after snap, it influences what offensive coordinator Kendal Briles believes he can do. There’s the likelihood that Briles went too conservative. He put Stidham in a lot of 3rd and longs. You’re going to have a hard time converting those (Baylor actually finished 8-of-15). But I also think the constant pressure on Stidham just didn’t offer him the chance to survey the field.
>Having said that about Stidham (16-27-2 257 2 TD), he looked like a freshman. As talented as he is and as much as he should be able to do in the coming years, reality surfaced. He threw his first two interceptions, made some bad plays, looked rattled at times. When he felt like he had nothing downfield, he took off. A veteran and gifted defensive unit just made him feel his age. So he’s going to have to take what he learned in this game and use for next week at Stillwater.
>As we watched Oklahoma take Corey Coleman (3-57) away from this offense, it really was remindful of what we watched last week with TCU and Josh Doctson. The stud wide receiver is not a factor. The rest of the receiving corps doesn’t look the same. There were two instances where receivers were bunched in the same area. The most glaring was the 17-yard TD pass to Jay Lee that narrowed the margin to 37-34. Why Lee and KD Cannon ran into each other is a sign that somebody was in the wrong area. Baylor was lucky because was Cannon was stunned in the collision with Lee (lucky he didn’t knock the ball away from Lee) but seemed to be fine. Consider Coleman made that 37-yard grab in the opening possession of the second half and was never heard from again. I believe he had a drop and there might have been targeted once or twice. That was it. Cannon made a couple of huge grabs. Jay Lee did what he’s done throughout his career. He drops a touchdown on an easy ball (could he be more wide open?). He then catches that TD. Lee is just not a consistent player.
>Linwood finished with 103 yards on 21 carries. He’s now at 3,282 yards and trails Walter Abercrombie (3,665) by 383 yards. One of those carries went for 34 yards. The other 20 combined for 68 (3.4 yards per carry). Linwood lost 13 yards for the night. But the staff has really narrowed the field. I could have missed it but I don't think Johnny Jefferson is hurt. However, I just haven't see him do anything since he arrived at Baylor. The staff also doesn't trust Terence Williams yet to put him in tight situations.
>I totally get that the defensive line had its issues with three of the four either out or playing with some ailment. Ironically, the one who didn’t was Jamal Palmer – he of the torn ACL in 2014. And while Byron Bonds saw some snaps, he had no impact. So this unit was reeling. But you can see why recruiting defensive linemen and winning some of these wars is so imperative. Baylor can plug here and there. But the time comes when there has to be a sense of urgency given to winning these battles. I don’t why top defensive line prospects are considering Baylor but not really deeply considering Baylor. They could believe that the offense overshadows everything. Plus, they see the defense endure the national media wrath. They can’t block it out.
>But this defensive line has not had a great year from the beginning. I remember when several of our readers were expressing shock when Blackshear was getting pushed around in the Sept. 4 opener at SMU. Even when healthy, it’s just not played to a level that you would have expected.
>The best player on the field for Baylor was NB Travon Blanchard. As I believed, he did play some spy on Baker Mayfield (what a magician). Blanchard had a team-leading 14 tackles, three tackles for loss, an interception and a QB hurry. He’s embraced that position. He already has four takeaways with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
>Grant Campbell just doesn’t have any impact. Taylor Young was better. But Mayfield just made some incredible plays including his final touchdown pass to Dimitri Flowers that gave The Sooners the margin they needed.
>The special teams come and go. A snafu on the first extra point. Later there’s a great kick return that puts Baylor in plus territory (a possession where the offense dissolved).
>Reality can bite. Baylor ran into that Saturday. This team was keeping everything together hoping that a freshman quarterback would find the magic to keep a great season going. Turns out, that was unrealistic. For the last three games, there’s really not a lot you can do with either the offensive and defensive lines. These are the guys. They have to play better. We’ll have to see where Blackshear is during the week. They’re going to get a real nice test in Stillwater next week. They better hold up or else we’re talking about a see a season where someone takes the needle and pokes the balloon.
Sometimes, you just get beat. Baylor just got beat. There are no excuses.
Publisher
No. 12 Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) defeated No. 6 (8-1, 5-1), 44-34, Saturday night at McLane Stadium. The loss pretty much erases Baylor’s national playoff hopes. However, it does not end conference championship aspirations. What also does end is Baylor’s 20-game FBS home winning streak. That was the longest in the nation. The crowd of 49,875 was also the largest in McLane Stadium history.
So what did the Publisher think?
>When it comes to losses, we become consumed on what the hometown heroes didn’t do and either don’t acknowledge or don’t accept what the opposition did. You won’t get that from your publisher.
>Look for the CFB Playoff Committee to hit Baylor hard in the rankings. The committee dared the Bears to win these games and prove they belonged as one of the nation's top four. Baylor didn't have an answer.
>Baylor had a lot of players suffer injuries. Back Blackshear injured his right knee in the first half and didn’t return. Both safeties Orion Stewart and Chance Waz didn’t return from injuries. Quarterback Jarrett Stidham gutted through a back injury that he suffered on the first series of the game. Andrew Billings continued to nurse through his sprained ankle. Shawn Oakman had his own knee injury. That’s the game. It happens. That’s not why Oklahoma beat Baylor.
>The big explosive plays are fun to watch. They’re really more fun to watch when the offensive line is making it all possible. Those were few and far between because the dye had been cast. And this is why Oklahoma beat Baylor.
>This game was a result of what was an unsettling subplot from last week against Kansas State. The concerns in both Baylor’s offensive and defensive lines were completely exposed by Oklahoma’s better collection of talent. I’m going to tell it plain: Outside of the first possession of each half, Oklahoma’s defensive line abused Baylor’s offensive line throughout. Heck, I’m going to rip the band aid. They kicked their a**. Led by Charles Tapper, this foursome just got after this veteran group and made it look a step slow. And if you disagree with me, then you and I were watching two different games. Oklahoma had eight tackles for loss to go with two sacks. The Sooners were credited with only two QB pressures. But they made things uncomfortable enough.
>We can talk about play calling this and play calling that. There weren’t check downs. Shock Linwood caught two passes for four yards. There wasn’t much underneath. But when you’re watching an OU defensive front pretty much have its way snap after snap, it influences what offensive coordinator Kendal Briles believes he can do. There’s the likelihood that Briles went too conservative. He put Stidham in a lot of 3rd and longs. You’re going to have a hard time converting those (Baylor actually finished 8-of-15). But I also think the constant pressure on Stidham just didn’t offer him the chance to survey the field.
>Having said that about Stidham (16-27-2 257 2 TD), he looked like a freshman. As talented as he is and as much as he should be able to do in the coming years, reality surfaced. He threw his first two interceptions, made some bad plays, looked rattled at times. When he felt like he had nothing downfield, he took off. A veteran and gifted defensive unit just made him feel his age. So he’s going to have to take what he learned in this game and use for next week at Stillwater.
>As we watched Oklahoma take Corey Coleman (3-57) away from this offense, it really was remindful of what we watched last week with TCU and Josh Doctson. The stud wide receiver is not a factor. The rest of the receiving corps doesn’t look the same. There were two instances where receivers were bunched in the same area. The most glaring was the 17-yard TD pass to Jay Lee that narrowed the margin to 37-34. Why Lee and KD Cannon ran into each other is a sign that somebody was in the wrong area. Baylor was lucky because was Cannon was stunned in the collision with Lee (lucky he didn’t knock the ball away from Lee) but seemed to be fine. Consider Coleman made that 37-yard grab in the opening possession of the second half and was never heard from again. I believe he had a drop and there might have been targeted once or twice. That was it. Cannon made a couple of huge grabs. Jay Lee did what he’s done throughout his career. He drops a touchdown on an easy ball (could he be more wide open?). He then catches that TD. Lee is just not a consistent player.
>Linwood finished with 103 yards on 21 carries. He’s now at 3,282 yards and trails Walter Abercrombie (3,665) by 383 yards. One of those carries went for 34 yards. The other 20 combined for 68 (3.4 yards per carry). Linwood lost 13 yards for the night. But the staff has really narrowed the field. I could have missed it but I don't think Johnny Jefferson is hurt. However, I just haven't see him do anything since he arrived at Baylor. The staff also doesn't trust Terence Williams yet to put him in tight situations.
>I totally get that the defensive line had its issues with three of the four either out or playing with some ailment. Ironically, the one who didn’t was Jamal Palmer – he of the torn ACL in 2014. And while Byron Bonds saw some snaps, he had no impact. So this unit was reeling. But you can see why recruiting defensive linemen and winning some of these wars is so imperative. Baylor can plug here and there. But the time comes when there has to be a sense of urgency given to winning these battles. I don’t why top defensive line prospects are considering Baylor but not really deeply considering Baylor. They could believe that the offense overshadows everything. Plus, they see the defense endure the national media wrath. They can’t block it out.
>But this defensive line has not had a great year from the beginning. I remember when several of our readers were expressing shock when Blackshear was getting pushed around in the Sept. 4 opener at SMU. Even when healthy, it’s just not played to a level that you would have expected.
>The best player on the field for Baylor was NB Travon Blanchard. As I believed, he did play some spy on Baker Mayfield (what a magician). Blanchard had a team-leading 14 tackles, three tackles for loss, an interception and a QB hurry. He’s embraced that position. He already has four takeaways with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
>Grant Campbell just doesn’t have any impact. Taylor Young was better. But Mayfield just made some incredible plays including his final touchdown pass to Dimitri Flowers that gave The Sooners the margin they needed.
>The special teams come and go. A snafu on the first extra point. Later there’s a great kick return that puts Baylor in plus territory (a possession where the offense dissolved).
>Reality can bite. Baylor ran into that Saturday. This team was keeping everything together hoping that a freshman quarterback would find the magic to keep a great season going. Turns out, that was unrealistic. For the last three games, there’s really not a lot you can do with either the offensive and defensive lines. These are the guys. They have to play better. We’ll have to see where Blackshear is during the week. They’re going to get a real nice test in Stillwater next week. They better hold up or else we’re talking about a see a season where someone takes the needle and pokes the balloon.
Sometimes, you just get beat. Baylor just got beat. There are no excuses.
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