Season Preview: OU vs. Baylor

If you like fireworks, get to Norman on Nov. 12. That's when two of the nation's top offenses — OU and Baylor — will hit Owen Field. Last year the teams combined for 927 yards and 78 points as the Sooners toppled the previously unbeaten Bears 44-34 in Waco in mid-November.

Oklahoma owns a 22-3 all-time record against Baylor and is 14-3 against the Bears under head coach Bob Stoops. The 14 wins are his most against any opponent.

About the bears

The Bears have one of the most talented depth charts in the Big 12, but they will have to overcome the departure of head coach Art Briles in order to compete for the conference title in 2016.

Acting head coach Jim Grobe will look to keep the Baylor offense rolling after a 10-3 season a year ago that saw BU end the year with a 49-38 win over North Carolina in the Russell Athletic Bowl thanks to a 645-yard rushing performance. Baylor, which began the year 8-0 before losing three of its final four regular season games, led the nation in scoring offense (48.1 points per game) and total offense (616.2 yards per game) a year ago despite injuries to multiple starting quarterbacks (four different players attempted at least 20 passes).

Presumed starting quarterback Seth Russell is one of the top signal callers in the nation and was a Heisman contender through seven contests before he was sidelined with a neck injury. He threw for 2,104 yards and 29 touchdowns on 59-percent passing in his limited time in 2015. Wideout KD Cannon also returns for the Bears. Cannon hauled in 50 passes last year for 868 yards and six scores. BU also welcomes back leading rusher Shock Linwood. A Doak Walker and Maxwell Award candidate last year, Linwood rushed for 1,329 yards and 10 scores on just 196 carries (6.8 yards per carry).

The Bears' defense ranked 79th in points allowed in 2015. It will lean on linebacker Taylor Young to improve those numbers in 2016. Young finished third on the team with 80 tackles a year ago while also racking up 13.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.

Big 12 Supremes

Oklahoma (2012 and 2015) and Baylor (2013 and 2014) have accounted for each of the last four Big 12 championships with the head-to-head winner taking the conference crown each year. With such intense recent history, the 2016 version of the Sooners vs. Bears will be a contest not to be missed.

Adding to the intrigue are the high expectations for each squad entering the campaign. Both teams are ranked in the top 10 by ESPN with OU sitting at No. 5 and Baylor at No. 7.

Another QB Dual

OU is blessed with one of the best quarterbacks in the land, so anytime the Sooners' opponent has a gunslinger of its own, a showdown will be endlessly hyped, anticipated and analyzed. That figures to be the case when the Bears, led by Seth Russell, come to town.

Russell played in just seven games last year but had led Baylor to a record of 7-0 and tossed 29 touchdowns to that point. He was ultimately sidelined with a neck injury, and according to ESPN, he has yet to be cleared for full contact. Russell is expected to be ready to play when the fall rolls around.

Our best vs. your best

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One of the most important battles on the field will likely receive far less attention, but will not lag behind in impact. Veteran cornerback Jordan Thomas will quite possibly be asked to cover top pass-catching option KD Cannon early and often. Both players will likely play ball on Sundays in the near future and the one-on-one matchup is not to be missed. At 6-1, Cannon is plenty big enough to make physical, contested catches, but he also possess the speed to take the top off an opposing defense.

Thomas, large for a cornerback, matches Cannon's height at 6-1 and also outweighs the Bears' wideout. He flashed his cover skills many times a year ago but perhaps never more so than in OU's road win over the Bears. Thomas and the Sooners held then-Heisman candidate Corey Coleman to just three catches and 51 yards, 37 of which did not come against Thomas. If Thomas and the secondary can recreate that success again in 2016, it will greatly enhance the Sooners' chances of a repeat win.

Last year in Waco

On a rain-soaked November night on the Brazos, the Sooners began a defining three-game stretch with a win over fourth-ranked Baylor. Oklahoma forced three turnovers and outgained the powerful Bears attack en route to a 44-34 win that marked BU's first ever loss at McLane Stadium.

The Sooners' deadly rushing attack was in full force, as OU piled up 241 yards on the ground and three scores. Samaje Perine led the way, rushing for 166 yards on 28 totes (5.9 average) and finding the end zone twice, including a 55-yard scamper made possible by a powerful stiff-arm. Baker Mayfield was his usual scrambling, playmaking self. OU's signal caller rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown and also threw for 270 yards and three scores on 24-of-34 passing. Mayfield's big numbers came in large part to the spectacular play of Sterling Shepard. The senior receiver hauled in 14 passes for 177 yards and two scores, including a 39-yard, over-the-shoulder touchdown grab that took no small bit of concentration and body control.

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OU's defense held Baylor, the top-ranked offense in the nation in total yards and scoring, to just 416 yards and 34 points (both season lows for the Bears to that point). The Sooners' secondary became the first unit to hold eventual Biletnikoff Award winner Corey Coleman under 100 yards (finished with 51 yards on three catches) or out of the end zone.