Saturday's Oklahoma-Baylor matchup was supposed to be a de facto Big 12 title game. Instead, the Bears turned it into a Big 12 blowout in a historic 48-14 win.
Behind quarterback Bryce Petty's big arm and a terrific defensive performance, Baylor ended a number of dubious streaks against the Sooners, and most notably won for the first time ever in Norman. The team also won a road game against a top 25 opponent for the first time since 1991, snapping a streak of 37 straight losses.
As if the scoreboard was not painful enough to watch for Sooners fans, starting quarterback Trevor Knight was carted off the field after taking a hard hit on a sack in the fourth quarter. He was wrapped up by big defensive end Shawn Oakman and appeared to awkwardly twist his neck. He gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he was taken to the locker room for tests. In a classy move, Petty sent his best wishes to Knight after the game.
Earlier in the game, Knight showed off his hurdling ability, leaping over a Baylor defender on a run.
It looked as though Knight and Oklahoma were going to make a statement to the rest of the league and the country as they marched out to a 14-3 lead. Baylor stormed back, though, closing the gap to four before a Bryce Hager interception turned the game for good in favor of the Bears. After that, the rout was on as Art Briles' team scored 45 unanswered to put the game away well before the end of the third quarter.
Petty was having a subpar season by his standards but broke out in a big way on Saturday afternoon. He completed 14 straight passes to open the second half and nearly became the fifth player ever to throw for more than 400 yards on a Bob Stoops defense. He fell just short after being removed in the fourth quarter, finishing the day 32-of-42 for 387 yards and a touchdown.
Most importantly for NFL scouts in attendance, Petty was able to hit downfield passes and maneuver inside the pocket to find his receivers for most of the game. Oklahoma's defense gave quite a bit of cushion to the Baylor receiving corps and the Bears were able to take advantage of it. Sophomore Corey Coleman was the main beneficiary, recording a 15-catch, 224-yard day that also included a touchdown.
The Bears' offense was very impressive, but that shouldn't overshadow a terrific day for the team's defense. It limited the Sooners to just 320 yards while forcing Knight into a bad interception that was the key turning point in the game. Oakman has been mentioned as a potential No. 1 overall pick and was able to bring pressure off the edge for most of the game. He would have been one of the highlights for Phil Bennett's unit had it not been for the play of defensive tackle Andrew Billings, who was often seen in the backfield blowing plays up and boosting his Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year candidacy.
The 34-point loss was the second-worst ever for Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who dropped back-to-back home games for the first time in his tenure with the school.
On the flip side, the impressive win kept Baylor's Big 12 title hopes alive and no doubt sent quite the message to the College Football Playoff selection committee.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
