Oklahoma-Baylor: Q3 Report

NORMAN — It took a lot of sputtering, but Oklahoma’s high-octane offense finally got to squeal its wheels.

After scuffling to produce any offense for most of the first half, the No. 11-ranked Sooners got a short touchdown run late in the first half and then opened the third quarter with a touchdown pass from Spencer Rattler to Theo Wease to take a 17-0 lead on Baylor Saturday night at Owen Field.

Meanwhile, OU’s defensive dominance in the first half continued deep into the third quarter. OU defensive linemen batted down three passes in the third quarter, and freshman cornerback D.J. Graham gave the Sooners a shove into the fourth quarter with his first career interception.

OU led the Bears 10-0 at halftime — the first time since a 55-0 shutout at Kansas State in 2015 that the Sooner defense had held a Big 12 opponent scoreless over an entire first half — and then forced a quick three-and-out to start the second half before extending the lead to 17.

Baylor cut it to 17-7 on the Bears’ next possession on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Charlie Brewer to Tyquan Thornton. The score was huge for both teams as Brewer was sacked on fourth-and-8 by Marcus Stripling and Perrion Winfrey to apparently end the threat, but Stripling was whistled for lining up offsides, and Brewer and the Bears cashed in their second chance with the TD.

The teams staged two classics last season — the one in Waco became OU’s largest comeback win in school history, and the one in Arlington was an overtime thriller that produced the Sooners’ fifth consecutive Big 12 Championship.

If Oklahoma hangs on to beat the Bears (or wins next week’s game at West Virginia), the Sooners clinch yet another trip to Arlington, where they’ll meet Iowa State in AT&T Stadium on Dec. 19.

OU played without four defensive starters (three in the secondary) and several backups but still held Baylor scoreless for more than 40 minutes Saturday.

Rush linebacker Nik Bonitto, free safety Pat Fields, nickel safety Brendan Radley-Hiles and cornerback Woodi Washington were all missing after the Sooners had a complete shutdown last week due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

Also missing from the defense were backup linebacker Brynden Walker, backup safety Justin Broiles and backup safety Bryson Washington.

That put little-used Robert Barnes — converted from safety to linebacker in the offseason — back at nickel safety to start the game. Nickel corner Jeremiah Criddell found himself back at free safety, and Tre Norwood — who frequently plays multiple positions — played both safety and nickel early.

Also, Jon-Michael Terry returned from missing the Sooners’ last game and started at rush linebacker for Bonitto, and Jaden Davis, who was previously the starter at corner before Washington took over the position, was back in the starting lineup at corner.

One reason Oklahoma struggled offensively might have been the absence of offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. OU averaged just 1.6 yards per rush in the first half and gave up three quarterback sacks.

OU was also missing tight end Austin Stogner for the second straight game as well as two backup offensive linemen, which didn’t explain the inordinate amount of dropped passes and missed blocks prominent throughout the first half.

OU put things together just before halftime when Rhamondre Stevenson scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 64 seconds left in the first half gave the Sooners a 10-0 lead.

After Oklahoma’s defense forced a short Baylor punt off its own goal line, Marvin Mims’ punt return set OU up with a short field. Stevenson converted a third-and-1 with a 4-yard run, and Drake Stoops drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone to give the Sooners a first-and-goal.

Gabe Brkic put OU on the board early with a 20-yard field goal on the Sooners’ opening possession, but Oklahoma’s offense went virtually nowhere after that before Stevenson’s TD.

Baylor might have had a brief lead, but John Mayers was short on back-to-back first-quarter field goals.

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