By John Werner

Tribune-Herald staff writer

The sight of Oklahoma’s defensive line pouring into the backfield would unnerve the most experienced quarterback.

Making just his third start, Baylor redshirt freshman Blake Szymanski had a nightmarish afternoon.

The Sooners sacked Szymanski five times and hurried seven passes in a 36-10 thrashing of the Bears in Saturday’s season finale at Floyd Casey Stadium.

No one took the loss harder than Baylor’s offensive linemen. Though they were battered and beaten after a grueling 12-game schedule, they expected to play better against the Sooners.

“We should have held up our end of the bargain and given Blake more time to throw,” said Baylor senior center Will Blaylock. “The offense starts with the line and we should give Blake eight or nine seconds on every pass play. Oklahoma threw some blitzes at us, but it was nothing we hadn’t seen before.”

Using superior strength and quickness, Oklahoma’s defensive linemen got to Szymanski by blowing through the line and overpowering Baylor’s blockers. Szymanski tried to use his mobility to run from them, but they dragged him down for losses of 70 yards on five sacks.

Oklahoma defensive ends C.J. Ah You and Alonzo Dotson collected two sacks apiece while tackle Steven Coleman picked up one for 15 yards. Dotson had the biggest sack of the day when he nailed Szymanski for a safety to give the Sooners a 29-3 third-quarter lead. The Sooners looked like world beaters after coming in with just 14 sacks in 10 games.

“Our line is beaten up, but we should have played better than that,” said Baylor offensive tackle Travis Farst. “We did a good job of handling them in their base stuff, but they got to us when they began blitzing a lot more. They weren’t the best defensive line we’ve played, but they’re fast.”

Running for his life much of the day, Szymanski hit just 22 of 45 passes for 188 yards with two interceptions by safety Reggie Smith. Smith intercepted Szymanski’s pass over the middle to Thomas White and returned it for a 42-yard touchdown to give Oklahoma 13-0 lead in the first quarter.

“Thomas ran a good route and was wide open,” Szymanski said. “But I threw the ball late and the safety read it right.”

In the third quarter, Szymanski tried to hit Justin Fenty on the left sideline, but he threw the ball short and Smith returned the interception 52 yards to set up Chris Brown’s seven-yard touchdown run.

Braelon Davis scored Baylor’s only touchdown on a 56-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter. Baylor’s offense had chances to score, but no one could come up with a breakthrough play.

Baylor’s two big-play receivers — Trent Shelton and Dominique Zeigler — combined for just four catches for 40 yards. Szymanski tried to hit Shelton for a 40-yard touchdown in the second quarter, but former Waco High star Marcus Walker came from behind and knocked the ball away in the end zone.

“I definitely thought that was pass interference,” Shelton said.

Trailing 13-3 in the second quarter, the Bears had a chance to score again after Anthony Arline intercepted Paul Thompson’s pass and returned it to Oklahoma’s 38. But after picking up a first down at the 28, Szymanski was nailed for losses on three successive plays including Ah You’s 13-yard sack on third down.

Instead of a scoring opportunity, the Bears were forced to punt on fourth-and-40.

“When they brought pressure, I should have gotten the ball out of my hand quicker,” Szymanski said. “I couldn’t get the ball in our playmakers’ hands all day. When you’ve got opportunities against a team like Oklahoma, you’ve got to take advantage of them.”

Though he was winless in three starts following Shawn Bell’s injury, Szymanski is ready to take on all challengers during spring drills.

“I have a lot of confidence and I’m going to do what I can to keep the job,” Szymanski said.

“We’re losing a lot of seniors, but we’ve got good guys coming back and more coming in. We’re all going to have to step it up.”

jwerner@wacotrib.com

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