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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooner Report: Bring on Baylor
November 04, 2014 | Football
Saturday's Showdown
Oklahoma vs. Baylor, a game many circled on their calendars when the schedule was released earlier this year, is finally here. The No. 16 Sooners host No. 10 Baylor on Saturday, as the two sides fight for position in the Big 12 standings.
Baylor's only loss came at West Virginia by a 14-point margin, while Oklahoma topped the Mountaineers by a 12-point margin. Baylor rallied for a remarkable comeback to prevail by a 61-58 margin against a TCU squad that registered a 37-33 win against the Sooners. Baylor will face Kansas State in its regular season finale on Dec. 6. The Wildcats defeated the Sooners by a 31-30 margin in Oklahoma's most recent home contest.
This weekend's matchup marks just the fifth time during the Bob Stoops' era that OU will welcome an AP Top 10 Big 12 foe team to Norman. In the previous four games, Oklahoma not only claimed victories but were dominant, outscoring the opposition by a combined score of 183-68.
However, this Baylor squad will definitely present a number of challenges for the Crimson and Cream both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
“They're really good, obviously,” said Stoops. “If you watch and look at the yardage they're putting up and defensively in the last couple of years they've really played well there too in the way they're executing and playing with great fundamentals. They have some really good players running around and they're a really good football team, of course.”
Knight's Performance Earns Accolades
OU Quarterback Trevor picked up a number of honors for his play in the Sooners' 59-14 rout over Iowa State. The San Antonio native was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and the Week 10 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week, as well as being selected as one of eight quarterbacks to the Manning Award Stars of the Week.
Knight had a game to remember on Saturday in Ames, Iowa. The sophomore signal caller turned in a remarkable performance on the ground and through the air, rushing for a career-high 146 yards and three touchdowns and throwing for 230 yards and three touchdowns.
The three rushing touchdown and three passing touchdown display put Knight in elite company, becoming the first player to accomplish the feat at the FBS level in 2014. Notre Dame's Everett Golson managed to pull off the feat on Saturday evening as well.
Knight also became just the second Sooner to ever account for three rushing and passing touchdowns in the same game, joining former national champion and current co-offensive coordinator Josh Heupel. The former quarterback accomplished the feat in a 50-13 win over No. 13 Texas A&M on Oct. 23, 1999.
“I thought Trevor Knight had an exceptional game in the way he executed overall,” said Stoops at his weekly Monday press conference. “He completes a bomb to Sterling Shepard who has been an explosive player and big-play guy for us all year and we lose him for the game, but Trevor was able to execute the run game and all of his reads from the run game were excellent.”
Sooners Run Wild in Ames
Oklahoma's offensive display in Ames ranked as one of the most dominant performances in Sooner history, particularly in the ground game. OU amassed 751 yards of total offense, the most during Stoops' 16-season tenure and the fourth most in program history. The total yardage was the most by an OU team since it totaled 829 yards vs. Kansas State on Oct. 15, 1988.
A whopping 510 of the 751 yards came from the rushing attack, with three different players eclipsing the 100-yard mark. Knight (146), running back Alex Ross (144) and running back Samaje Perine (110) each gained over 100 yards on Saturday, marking the first time a trio of Sooners accomplished the feat in the same game since Earnest Williams (157), Dewell Brewer (118) and Stevve Collins (102) did it in 1992 against Missouri (11/7/92).
“I think it was our attitude, our motivation coming in, and coming off a loss we knew we had to make a statement to everyone and our running game is the number one way to do that,” said Perine after the win. “We ran the ball hard.”
Following the game Stoops was quick to heap praise on the blocking from the team as a unit.
“I thought the offensive line and our blocking was excellent,” said Stoops. “Tight ends, fullbacks all of that, our running was very physical too. I'm positive in the way we played.”
Briles Breaks Down Oklahoma
Baylor head coach Art Briles discussed the upcoming game in his weekly press conference. He noted the challenge of facing a multi-threat quarterback in Knight.
"He's tremendously athletic, and they're doing a great job of utilizing his skills right now,” said Briles. “Coach Heupel and some of those guys that coach on the offensive side of the ball are utilizing his skill level set and it adds a different dimension any time you play around a running quarterback. You've got to account for him in the run game now. It's something he really excels at plus he can also throw the football."
OU's offensive line also has the attention of the Baylor head coach, as the unit has allowed just five sacks all season, including zero in the past two games.
“We're going up against a really good offensive line,” said Briles. “Those guys are good and they do a good job. They scheme it up well and they run plays a little bit to keep you off balance. But, like I said, I like the personality of our guys and I like the skill level of our guys going into the game."
Battle in the Trenches
There are a number of interesting trends and storylines to keep an eye on when watching Saturday's game. The battle in the trenches will be a key factor in determining which team comes out on top, as Oklahoma and Baylor bring the top two rushing offenses in the Big 12 into the game. OU ranks second with 231.8 yards per game while Baylor leads the conference with an average of 241.8 per game.
On the other side of the ball the defensive front sevens of both the Sooners and the Bears have impressed all season. The two teams are the only squads in the Big 12 that have not allowed a 100-yard rushing performance from an opponent this season. The Baylor defense leads the league in sacks (27.0) but the Oklahoma offensive line tops the ranks in sacks allowed (5.0).
On the Call
Saturday's matchup between Oklahoma and Baylor is slated to kickoff at 11 a.m. ET and will air on FS1. In the booth for the broadcast will be Joe Davis serving as the play-by-play announcer and Joey Harrington filling the role of analyst. Joining the two from the sideline will be Kris Budden.
Westwood One will broadcast the contest to a national radio audience with John Sadak calling the action and former NFL wide receiver Chris Doering providing color commentary.
Players Mentioned
Friday, July 10
Wednesday, July 08
Thursday, June 25
Monday, June 22
