Oklahoma-Baylor: Our Picks

John Hoover

How’s this for a prediction: If Oklahoma beats Baylor, the Sooners will run the table and win their last six games. If they don’t — a tall order, for sure — then anything is possible in what folks in Norman used to call “Championship November.” Will the Sooners have to get creative in the run game again, or do they have enough healthy running backs to survive the Big 12’s most physical team? Baylor will win the line of scrimmage with its offensive and defensive lines. The Sooners need to make plays against the Baylor secondary on offense, and they need to win what looks like another special teams mismatch like they did last week at Iowa State. If they can’t pull off both of those, Baylor snaps OU’s modest two-game winning streak.

Final score: Baylor 27, OU 24

Ryan Chapman

Oklahoma’s defense took a step forward last week containing a dismal Iowa State offense. Unfortunately for the Sooners, the Baylor rushing attack is no slouch. The Bears returned one of the most experienced offensive lines in the conference, and have found a playmaker in freshman running back Richard Reese to run behind the veteran unit up front. Blake Shapen has been known to make mistakes, but OU’s rushing defense hasn’t been magically fixed over the last three weeks. Much like against Kansas State, it’s tough to see how the Sooner defense will be able to make stops in the game’s biggest moments, and the offense will have to find a way to shake the Dave Aranda curse to score with the Bears.

Final score: Baylor 37, Oklahoma 31

Josh Callaway

It's amazing how differently this game is being viewed from a national perspective now as opposed to the beginning of the season. Coming into the year, this was THE game in the Big 12. Now we're here and, well, it's a 2 p.m. kick on ESPN+. Both teams already have three losses under their belt which means somebody is going to get saddled with loss No. 4 with still three weeks to play. But, while all of these realities have taken the shine off of the game nationally, the intrigue is still absolutely there for two desperate football teams trying to salvage their season. Dave Aranda would be the best head coach Brent Venables has beaten this season if he can manage it, and that should happen on Saturday. Baylor certainly has a lot to create problems for Oklahoma in this game with their rushing attack being the most obvious. But, the Bears secondary feels like a weak spot that Dillon Gabriel and his receivers should be able to exploit. After a rough outing in Ames, look for Marvin Mims to bounce back and have a big day with at least a couple of big plays in this one. The OU defense is almost certainly going to have struggles at times, but if they can tackle as well as they have the last couple of games along with picking up some turnovers, enough of a window should be created for the Sooners' offense to do what is needed to win this game at home.

Final score: Oklahoma 34, Baylor 27

Ross Lovelace

Oklahoma seems to be on the steady rise and this is the game that would put them over the hump. Last week against Iowa State felt like a “business as usual” win for the Sooners, and more like what the team envisioned from the beginning of the year. Even though the Bears are playing solid football right now, the home crowd and the momentum gives Oklahoma the edge. If the offense is humming, it’ll be interesting to see how the Sooners’ secondary holds up in a shootout. Oklahoma’s game plan has been clear in both recent victories: establish the run and feed Eric Gray. If Gray can get going early, it’ll open up the field for Gabriel to try and finally connect on his deep throws downfield.

Final score: Oklahoma 38, Baylor 27