Sooners Planning On Little Letdown Against Baylor

Nov. 3, 2000

By JIM VERTUNO
AP Sports Writer

WACO, Texas - After three straight emotional victories over ranked teams vaulted Oklahoma to No. 1, the Sooners are primed for a letdown.

Luckily, they're playing Baylor on Saturday.

The Bears (2-6, 0-5 Big 12) have only two touchdowns in their last 16 quarters and have lost 18 straight games against conference rivals.

So even if Oklahoma (7-0, 4-0) slips a little, it should still remain on top of the Bowl Championship Series standings and firmly in charge of the national title race.

The Sooners' next big game is a trip to Texas A&M on Nov. 11.

"Our players are excited to play well, they're excited to go out and practice," said OU coach Bob Stoops, who this week was given a new five-year contract extension worth $1.4 million a year.

"Our players are smart enough to know that (No. 1) has happened to them, but why give it up? Why not win one more game and be 8-0?"

Baylor has the misfortune of facing a second No. 1 team in three weeks. The Bears lost 59-0 to Nebraska two weeks ago before the Cornhuskers lost their top spot to the Sooners.

"Not many programs in the history of college football have done this," Baylor coach Kevin Steele said. "It's a monstrous challenge for any program, even a top 10 program."

If Oklahoma stay sharp, this one could get ugly in a hurry.

The Sooners have the nation's second-highest scoring offense at 44.4 points per game. Quarterback Josh Heupel, who has stormed into the race for the Heisman Trophy, is fourth nationally in passing efficiency and averages 313.4 yards.

Playing Baylor would seem a good opportunity to either rest Heupel or let him toss up big numbers. Heupel's 12 touchdown passes are one more than Baylor has scored on offense all season. The Bears are 113th nationally in total offense and 104th in total defense.

In the Heisman race, Heupel has some big wins, but his touchdown passes are far behind Purdue's Drew Brees (22) and Florida State's Chris Weinke (23).

Stoops, however, says he's not concerned about Heupel's stats.

"If we were, instead of running the ball late (against Texas) we could have fired the ball a few more times to try and get him 300 yards," Stoops said. "That says it all right there. We're concerned about winning and playing well in all parts of the game."

Heupel downplays the Heisman talk.

"I heard a commentator say I was in the top three," he said. "I don't want to know, but I couldn't turn it off because we were eating at a Norman restaurant."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Planning On Little Letdown Against Baylor

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