This Thursday night, two ranked teams square off in a Big 12 battle with something to prove to the Bowl Championship Series voters.
For Baylor University, this would give them a win over a ranked team, and would boost them in the computer polls. For University of Oklahoma, this game could put them back on top of the Big 12, and could mean a BCS bowl berth.
A lot will be on the line this Thursday night for both teams, and it should be a great Big 12 matchup.
The Baylor Bears have had an amazing start to the season going 7-0. Being undefeated at the beginning of November means nothing, if you can’t keep it up.
Also, the Bears still lack any wins over a quality opponent and their strength of schedule is terrible. The best win on Baylor’s resume is a 73-42 win over West Virginia. And their toughest opponent so far was Kansas State, and that win required a 14-point fourth quarter to prevail.
Baylor hasn’t played a strong team up to this point. The upcoming game against Oklahoma will be the Bears toughest test because the Midwestern team can prove to be dangerous.
While Oklahoma came into the season not knowing what to expect from their team, they have accomplished significant feats despite several setbacks.
Oklahoma has switched quarterbacks and have suffered injuries to key players on both sides of the ball. Yet these Sooners are currently sitting at 7-1 this season with key wins against Notre Dame at South Bend and at home against Texas Tech.
In those pivotal games, Oklahoma looked stellar, especially the starting quarterback, Blake Bell.
The problem for Oklahoma is they have something Baylor doesn’t: a loss.
Oklahoma lost the Cotton Bowl 36-20 in a game where they still have no clue what happened and neither does coach Mack Brown.
But, Oklahoma has consistently played well on the defense, and the Sooners have brought back the running game they’re known for. They embrace a style similar to that of Kansas State, except the Sooners do it better. Oklahoma could exploit and upset Baylor, if they stick to what they know and do best.
Courtesy of grantland.com
Baylor’s best quality as a team is that they play nearly flawless football offensively. Quarterback Bryce Petty’s performance so far this season has been even better than when RGIII played for Baylor.
Petty has thrown 18 touchdowns to just 1 interception, and Baylor has the top passing offense in the country because of his efficiency.
The scary part is Petty might not even be the best player on the offense; it may very well be running back Lache Seastrunk.
Seastrunk has 11 touchdowns this season on the ground. He has rushed for over 100 yards in nearly every single game, and is a threat to any defense he faces.
The running back averages 9.1 yards per carry, and is just plain explosive. Every parts of Baylor’s offense will have to be clicking against the formidable Oklahoma defense, which is far superior to West Virginia and Kansas State.
On Thursday, Bears running game should be stopped, as Oklahoma will use the old Snyder-Blueprint to dominate on the field. Look for the Sooners to bring Baylor back to reality as they slow down the game with the run, and force Baylor to have the lowest scoring total of the season.
