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Baylor vs. Oklahoma - THE MORNING AFTER -- Highlights, Links, Notes, Tweets

The Bears rebounded from an early deficit with 45 unanswered points to earn their first-ever win in Norman over the Oklahoma Sooners. So what happens now?

By Mark C. Moore
Brett Deering

48
BAYLOR
(8-1, 5-1) 10/10/12
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH F
3 21 14 10 48
14 0 0 0 14

Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery
USATSI Photos

Norman, Okla. • Attendance: 85,048

14
OKLAHOMA
(6-3, 3-3) 16/16/15

Players of the Game:

QB Bryce Petty -- 32/42 for 387 yards and 1 TD, no INTs
Baylor RBs -- 4 TDs on the ground
WR Corey Coleman -- 15 receptions for 224 yards and 1 TD, 2 carries for 7 yards, 1 TD

LB Bryce Hager -- 10 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT returned for 36 yards
DT Beau Blackshear -- 4 tackles, 2 TFL

K Chris Callahan -- 2/2 FGs, 6/6 XPs, now hit 12 FGs in a row over 4 games

Injury News:

I know people have questions about Baylor's injuries during yesterday's game, so I'll try to address them.  Over the course of the game, Baylor had 3 defenders go down at various points: LB Bryce Hager, S Orion Stewart, and DT/DE Javonte Magee.  My understanding is that all three will be fine if they aren't already and should play following the bye without any problems.

Also, OU newspeople reported last night that QB Trevor Knight left the OU facility under his own power and did not need to go to the hospital.  We are obviously very relieved to hear that, and we wish him a speedy recovery from his injuries.

Quick Thoughts:

Going into the game, I thought Baylor had a pretty good chance of beating Oklahoma if things went the way we needed them to go.  Maybe we'd get a few breaks, Petty would play really well, and the defense would force enough mistakes by Knight to make up the gap of their home-field advantage.  I never saw a dominating win like that, after Baylor went down early and did not look good, coming.  Never.

Considering the venue, the situation (with Baylor needing to win that game to have any chance at the CFB Playoff), and everything that has happened this season with Petty and the offense, yesterday's win was as impressive, if not more so, than just about any other game in the Art Briles era.  Everything Baylor needed to do, it did.  Every question that has been asked, was answered.  After falling behind by double-digits early, the defense held OU scoreless for 45+ minutes, the offense scored 45 points (and could have probably had more), and Baylor utterly dominated an OU team favored to beat them in a place where we'd never won before.

I don't think it can be overstated how good Bryce Petty was yesterday.  Even with a somewhat shaky start, he finished the game having completed 76% of his passes for nearly 400 yards.  Finally, it seemed that he and Baylor recognized his role: to let the offense run through him while taking what the defense gave them.  OU's defensive plan was clearly designed to do two things: stop the run and limit big plays.  They banked on the idea that Petty, who has been inconsistent through the majority of this season, couldn't or wouldn't complete the short passes necessary to beat them, believing instead that he would hold onto the ball as he did against WVU until their pass rush could get to him.  Based on what he's done this season, it's not a bad plan at all.  It just didn't work yesterday because Petty flipped the script, taking those 6-7 yard passes over and over again to the point that he once completed 18 passes in a row.  His was a masterful performance that OU simply either didn't expect or couldn't handle once it was upon them.  Go back and watch Baylor's drive immediately after the half that broke OU's back and put the Bears up 31-14.  That might have been the best single drive of the entire season, and it could not have been more easy.

One thing I'm coming back up here to mention now is the playcalling yesterday, which was masterful.  Baylor utilized the entire field, both vertically and horizontally, in a way we haven't seen much this year, to great effect.  Phil Montgomery deserves a lot of credit for the way that game unfolded and the way the offense performed after not having played to its usual standards for much of the year.

On the defense, Bryce Hager had possibly his best game as a Bear.  Faced with a running QB that gashed us several times early, Hager responded first with a game-changing INT and return and then by being simply everywhere, using his lateral speed to limit Knight's edge rushing and force everything inside again.  That's exactly what Baylor needed him to do to stop OU's momentum when Baylor was staging its comeback and ultimately taking the lead.

As you've probably already seen from my Twitter Reacts post and in other places, this kind of win is one that changes hearts and minds across the country.  You're going to see people giving Baylor a lot more respect now than before for the questions we answered yesterday, as they should.  Games like that change seasons first, programs second, and it's going to be awesome to see how things unfold from here.

Mark Seymour's Top 9

1. Mississippi St. Bulldogs
2. Oregon Ducks
3. Baylor Bears
4. TCU Horned Frogs
5. Alabama Crimson Tide
6. Florida State Seminoles
7. Ohio State Buckeyes
8. Arizona State Sun Devils
9. Auburn Tigers

We talked a bit in the late shift open thread last night how things will shake out after yesterday's results.  Just from looking at it now, I feel pretty good about Baylor jumping as high as #7 behind MSU, FSU, Oregon, and Bama/TCU 1-4, with TCU/Bama #5 and ASU #6.  That's in the CFB Playoff to come out Tuesday.  Should that happen, I feel pretty good about the way things are set up for the Bears with three games to play, including one against what should be a top-15 Kansas State team to finish the season.

2014 college football rankings, Week 12: Compiling the Top 25s - SBNation.com
This post will be updated around noon ET when the Coaches Poll is released and around 2 p.m. ET when the AP Poll comes out.

As always, we'll post about the rankings when they drop later today.

LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS

Saturday's 7 things that will most change the College Football Playoff rankings - SBNation.com
New College Football Playoff rankings won't be out until Tuesday, but here's a look at the games that made the most impact. At least until No. 4 Oregon vs. No. 17 Utah goes final. Full FBS final scores below.

College Football Playoff threat watch, Week 11: TCU flips into the top 4 - SBNation.com
Auburn's fall makes room in the top four for a new team in the if-the-season-ended-right-now Playoff picture.

Baylor vs. Oklahoma final score: 3 things we learned from the Bears' 48-14 blowout - SBNation.com
The Bears smashed the Sooners in their own house, and reintroduced themselves to the College Football Playoff hunt.

Carlton: Baylor's historical thumping of Oklahoma sends message to College Football Playoff selection committee | Dallas Morning News

OU football: Baylor has now won 3 out of last 4 games vs. the Sooners | News OK
Here is a look at Oklahoma’s 48-14 loss to Baylor by the numbers: 0: Wins for Baylor in its first 20 games against OU. 3: Wins for Baylor in its last four games against OU. 3: Straight scoreless quarters for OU. The Sooners had scored in 34 straight periods. The last time OU had gone scoreless in a quarter was the third period of the Sugar Bowl against Alabama. 6: First downs for OU after it took a 14-3 lead in the first quarter. 6: Touchdowns for Baylor after OU took a 14-3 lead in the first quarter. 14: Points scored by both of Baylor’s last two opponents, Kansas and OU. 15: Catches for Baylor’s Corey Coleman, good for 224 yards, all in the first 40 minutes of the 60-minute game.

Baylor Bears vs. Oklahoma Sooners - Recap - November 08, 2014 - ESPN
Bryce Petty wasn't kidding -- he was "ready for OU."

No. 12 Baylor makes statement with first win at No. 15 Oklahoma in school history | CollegeFootballTalk
Baylor had lost 11 straight games at Oklahoma dating back to 1974. The closest the Bears had come to leaving Norman with a win was in 1997, but instead Baylor went home the way they have 10 other times.

College Football Playoff Projections: Making sense of Baylor and TCU - CBSSports.com
Baylor's rout of Oklahoma in Norman sets the Bears up to win the Big 12

Will committee admit it was wrong assessing Baylor vs. TCU? | NCAA Football | Sporting News
Of all the quirks of the initial polling in the College Football Playoff, none was more glaring than the way the selection committee ignored Baylor.

Baylor's substance matches style, but will playoff committee see it? | NCAA Football | Sporting News
Baylor (8-1, 5-1) won in Norman for the first time in school history. The Bears still control their own destiny in the Big 12, and have a head-to-head win against TCU in hand and a home matchup against Kansas State on Dec. 6.

TCU joins Baylor in sending message on Separation Saturday | Dallas-Fort Worth Sports News - ...
Credit the Big 12 with being trendy Saturday. League football teams plugged into the throwback theme that has been sweeping the nation.

Brice Cherry: Statement win echoes through silent stadium in Norman - WacoTrib.com: Baylor Bears Football
NORMAN, Okla. — The words get bandied about so much they kind of lose their punch: Statement win. This was a statement win, that was a statement win. It’s to the point where teams are classifying victories in August and early September as statement wins.

Baylor notebook: Sooner streak snapped, Hager opportunistic, Coleman’s field day - WacoTrib.com: Baylor Bears Football
NORMAN, Okla. — Baylor steered itself out of a wild skid with its 48-14 win over No. 16 Oklahoma on Saturday.

Bears rout OU, 48-14, for 1st-ever win in Norman - WacoTrib.com: Baylor Bears Football
NORMAN, Okla. — The next time Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty says he’s just ready for OU, believe him.

No. 10 Football Rolls Past No. 16 Oklahoma, 48-14 - Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site - BaylorBears.com
Corey Coleman set career highs of 15 catches and 224 yards to help No. 10 Baylor roll past No. 16 Oklahoma 48-14 on Saturday.

TWEETS TWEETS TWEETS TWEETS TWEETS TWEETS

I already did this yesterday with tweets during the game, so I'll focus now on tweets after the game.

That should get things going today.

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