Looking at the Oklahoma vs Baylor Retrospective, these teams engaged in an epic contest Saturday night in Waco, Texas. Saturday’s game was a tale of two halves. Baylor looked every bit like a CFB playoff contender in the first half. Oklahoma was totally dominant and virtually unbeatable in the final two quarters. With this in mind, this is a retrospective of this battle for conference supremacy.
Oklahoma vs Baylor Retrospect
Baylor
In the first half, many experts were talking about how high Baylor would climb in the CFB playoff rankings. Baylor did everything right in the first two quarters. The Bears built a 25-point lead with under six minutes to go in the second quarter. Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer was virtually flawless. Brewer passed for two touchdowns and rushed for two more while guiding Baylor to the 25-point lead.
The Bears dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in the first half. The Sooners lost one fumble and threw one interception in the first half contributing to 14 Baylor points.
Clearly, a different Oklahoma came out and dominated them in the second half. Although this is a heartbreaking loss, the Baylor coaching staff needs to make sure its only one loss. Baylor needs to get ready for the next opponent when Texas comes to Waco next Saturday afternoon.
Oklahoma
The Sooners appeared to be without a pulse the first half Saturday. The offense seemed to be sleepwalking. Jalen Hurts turned the ball over three times in the game. Hurts committed two fumbles and threw an interception. Meanwhile, the defense looked like the one everyone has seen for two and a half games of late.
Offense
A totally different Oklahoma team came out the second half. The Sooners never punted the ball the second half. The only possession in which Oklahoma didn’t score in the second half was when Hurts fumbled the ball at the Baylor one-yard line. Despite his first-half struggles, Hurts show a lot of character with a near-flawless second-half performance. The offensive line took control of the line of scrimmage in the second half and the Sooners were unstoppable.
Oklahoma was without top receiver CeeDee Lamb, out with an apparent head injury. The Sooners young receiving corps showed why they were the top-ranked incoming freshmen group in the country. Austin Stogner, the number one tight end recruit in the country contributed a pair of touchdown receptions. Freshman wideout Theo Wease added two clutch catches and a touchdown. Fellow freshman Jadon Haselwood also had a big third-down reception.
Defense
The Sooner defense showed they can be a dominant unit. The defense held Baylor to 81 yards and three first downs of total offense the second half. The Bears could only manage one first down while Oklahoma was storming back to tie the game at 31-31 with 5:25 remaining. Baylor could only manage 45 yards of total offense before Oklahoma took the lead with 2:30 to go in the game. The Sooner defense was finally able to force two turnovers. The second turnover sealed the game with a Nik Bonitto interception at the Oklahoma 38 with 29 seconds remaining.
The second-half performance by the defense was the most dominant since Oklahoma defeated Florida State to win the national championship in 2000.
The Final Word
In conclusion, Oklahoma proved they can play championship-caliber football at least for a half. The Sooners set a record for the largest comeback victory in school history. It remains to be seen if this level of play will continue going forward. Everyone has seen Oklahoma play championship level offense. Saturday night everyone witnessed this team play stifling, shut down defense. This only shows how good this team can be when they play with effort, character, and most of all heart.
