Saturday was one of those college football days where you just want to survive and advance. That’s exactly what happened for the Sooners in Waco on Saturday night. After jumping to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, Oklahoma had to withstand a Baylor rally that eventually saw the Bears take a 31-28 lead in the third quarter. The Sooners eventually survived 49-41, but not before a share of ulcer inducing moments.
Baylor’s run to take the lead not only lit up the Twitter world, it also lit up Oklahoma’s defense. Sophomore quarterback Zach Smith completed 33-of-50 pass attempts for 463 yards and four touchdowns.
To counter the unexpectedly explosive Baylor offense, Oklahoma changed up the tempo a bit by feeding the Bears a heavy dose of the run game. Freshman Trey Sermon was the go-to back in the fourth quarter, rushing for 148 yards and two touchdowns in the final fifteen minutes.
4️⃣-0️⃣#Sooners open Big 12 play with a 49-41 victory over Baylor.
Quick recap ➡️ https://t.co/cQPOj5zSE4 pic.twitter.com/UxGG9InNUP
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) September 24, 2017
Quick Thoughts
There’s finally some work to do on the defense. Perhaps some is the injury situation and some of it is the schematics. Regardless, the secondary had a really bad night. I never thought that we’d see a night where Jordan Thomas was the defensive back being picked on.
Baker Mayfield wasn’t the centerpiece of the offense and that’s just fine. Lincoln Riley chose to use his workhorses rather than allow the game to become a shootout. Oklahoma’s running backs finished the night with 342 yards and four touchdowns on an average of 8.6 yards per carry.
Injuries are mounting. Jordan Thomas going down in the final minutes of the game was possibly the most crucial injury that we’ve seen this season…and there have been more than a few of them. Freshman Tre Norwood was picked on in Thomas’ absence and that’ll continue to be a theme if Thomas is not back quickly.
This team needs the bye week! Not just from a physical aspect but from a mental aspect as well. The Sooners aren’t in a good spot right now in either of those categories.