The Baylor Bears are playing at home in what should be a high scoring affair when they clash with the Sooners. Currently the Bears are ranked 6th in passing yards per game with 356.9. Much of this can be attributed to what Robert Griffin III has done and the way he has improved over the years. He currently boasts a 201.9 passer rating at home while 188.6 on the season, not to mention completing 74.2% of his passes for an average of 10.24 yards per completion.
Needless to say, this air attack will be one of the most potent that the Sooners have faced up to this season and the secondary will need to step up in a big way. However, Oklahoma will not be able to sell out on the pass as the Bears gain an average of 211 yards on the groung. Outside of that Baylor is scoring an average 40.3 points per game which ranks them just outside of the top ten is scoring. There is no doubt that what Baylor is bringing to the field will be a precursor to what we could expect at Oklahoma St. on December 3rd.
Knowing that Art Briles and his team are capable of putting up points, it is all going to come down to a couple of things in order to keep Oklahoma on their heels and possibly get the upset in Waco.
If Baylor wants to pull an upset, these are musts for the team.
1 - The defensive front must get pressure on Landry Jones.
The O-Line for Oklahoma has been great all season long allowing only 3 sacks on QB Landry Jones. If the Bears are hoping to score the upset, they will need to flush Jones out of the pocket. Landry is completing 67% of his passes when he has the time to scan the field while standing in the pocket. On the other side of that coin is Landry on the move. When Jones has been flushed his completion rate drops to a mere 37.5%. This will significantly help out a defense that is giving up 36 points a game.
2 - Robert Griffin III and the offense must win the battle of the clock.
Oklahoma has the ability to score at will and has done so time and time again this season. With the Baylor defense not posing a major threat, the Bears will have to hope to outscore Sooners. As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. Baylor certainly has that but they have not been able to limit the time of possession of their opponents most certainly against the Kansas Jayhawks. Something has got to change. Briles and Co. will need to attempt to slow their offense down a bit in order keep the clock moving as well as limit turnovers to zero while it is in their possession to limit Landry Jones and this Oklahoma offense.