Baylor was the talk of the Big 12 after its out-of-left-field upset of Missouri last weekend.

If the Bears beat No. 2 Texas, they’ll be the talk of the nation.

The Bears haven’t beaten the Longhorns since 1997, the last year John Mackovic coached the team. Texas coach Mack Brown is a perfect 11-0 against the Bears since 1998, and isn’t likely to overlook them Saturday at Floyd Casey Stadium since the unbeaten Longhorns might need to run the table to reach the BCS championship game.

Texas defenders (from left) Keenan Robinson, Roddrick Muckelroy and Lamarr Houston harass Central Florida quarterback Rob Calabrese in the Longhorns' 35-3 win Saturday in Austin. (Ralph Barrera photo / Associated Press)

---

Baylor coach Art Briles hopes his program can soon reach a point when it isn’t ground-shaking news when the Bears win a Big 12 game.

“We’ve got to get to a point where it’s not unexpected, but expected,” Briles said at his Tuesday press conference. “It’s our job as coaches to get our program up to that level. But from where we’re at right now, it (beating Missouri) was a very gratifying win and much needed.”

The Bears (4-5, 1-4) hope they can ride the momentum from their first big 12 win into the final three weeks of the season. Baylor will take a tour of Texas by facing the Longhorns, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

“Have you checked your driver’s license lately?” Briles said. “This is where we live. It’s our home and state, and this is basically where we’re judged. We know them and they know us, and that’s really what makes it exciting.”

Freshman quarterback Nick Florence would like to repeat the numbers he put up in Baylor’s 40-32 win over Missouri as he hit 32 of 43 passes for a school-record 427 yards and three touchdowns. But it’s a night-and-day difference between the Missouri and Texas defenses.

The Longhorns (9-0, 5-0) not only lead the nation in total defense and rushing defense, they rank first in the Big 12 in pass defense. Texas has allowed 230.8 total yards per game, including a paltry 55.3 on the ground.

After the Bears picked up just 38 yards rushing on 28 attempts against Missouri, Briles indicated that his team wouldn’t beat its head against the wall to pick up rushing yards against the Longhorns.

“Would we like to run the ball better?” Briles said. “Sure, because it allows you to control the tempo and it creates more lanes for throwing the ball. But not many teams have run the ball well against Texas. You can’t just say you’re going to keep running the ball. You can’t let pride get in the way of intelligence.”

Since Baylor will likely rely heavily on its passing game, the pressure will be on Florence to produce against a Texas pass defense that has allowed just 175.4 yards per game and nine touchdowns. Florence has gained confidence in each of his five starts and believes he’s ready for the challenge.

“Texas’ defense has a lot of speed and plays with a lot of confidence,” Florence said. “We’ve got to execute one play at a time and not get overwhelmed. They play a lot of man coverage, but they have weaknesses and that’s what we’re going to attack. We can still move the ball and score on them.”

Baylor’s defense will have its hands full trying to contain senior quarterback Colt McCoy, who has hit his groove in the last three games by hitting 79.8 percent for 910 yards and six touchdowns. His favorite target is Jordan Shipley, the Big 12 leader with 75 catches for 1,050 yards.

“Colt is a real good player, and a guy who can hurt you with his feet or his arm,” Briles said. “He’s an accurate passer, and gets the ball out of his hands fast and makes such good decisions. Wisely, they don’t ask him to do a whole lot of running by design. If that was the scheme Coach Brown or Coach (offensive coordinator Greg) Davis wanted to use, Colt could be more of a threat running the ball.”

Baylor’s pass defense got a lift against Missouri with the return of cornerback Antareis Bryan, who had missed six games after suffering a broken foot in the second game against Connecticut.

But the Bears need to string two good halves of defensive football together. After Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert hit 21 of 27 passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, he hit just nine of 24 for 146 yards with no touchdowns in the second half. Mixing blitzes and straight pass rushes, the Bears sacked Gabbert four times in the second half.

“We’ve got to come out from the start on the same page and not have technical miscues,” Baylor safety Jordan Lake said. “We’re going to have to play on all cylinders against Texas. But with a team like them, your level of excitement is always bumped up a lot.”

jwerner@wacotrib.com

757-5716