Monday, October 06, 2008
By John Werner
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Playing its first game in 15 days, Baylor looked a few steps slow against No. 1 Oklahoma Saturday at Floyd Casey Stadium.
By the time the Bears picked up the pace, the Sooners already had jumped out to a 28-0 first-quarter lead. The rest of the game was anticlimactic as Oklahoma rolled to a 49-17 win in the Big 12 opener.
Baylor vs. Oklahoma
- » Game story: Baylor football only target practice for top-ranked Oklahoma, 49-17
- » Notebook: Bears 'not that far apart' from Sooners, Briles says
- » Sooners live up to their name with first-quarter burst
- Updated team stats
- Full game summary
ACTION SHOTS
Following a bye week, Baylor’s rust showed in its first game since a 31-28 loss to Connecticut on Sept. 19 in East Hartford.
“I think we had a little bit of an open date layover early in the game,” said Baylor coach Art Briles Sunday. “Fifteen days is a long time not to be in live action, but that’s certainly not an excuse. We should have anticipated a little better the speed factor of the game early from a coaching standpoint.”
What the Bears witnessed in the first quarter was a Sooners passing circus. Sophomore Sam Bradford showed why he’s one of the top-rated quarterbacks in the country as he hit six of seven first-quarter passes for 153 yards.
On his second pass of the game, Bradford found Manuel Johnson wide open down the left sideline for a 53-yard touchdown. Baylor cornerback Dwain Crawford and safety Jeremy Williams were nowhere near Johnson as he scored easily.
Bradford finished with 23 completions in 31 attempts for 372 yards and two touchdowns. That’s been typical of his season as he’s hit 72.6 percent of his passes for 1,665 yards and 18 touchdowns with just three interceptions to propel Oklahoma’s 5-0 start.
“Offensively, Oklahoma plays with a good amount of confidence, and as a team in general because they have a lot of good memories to pull from,” Briles said. “They do a good enough job running the ball for guys to have play-action opportunities with open routes. But could we have done a better job? Yes. Do we expect to do better? Yes.”
The Bears also had trouble executing offensively in the first quarter as they finished with just 44 yards to Oklahoma’s 226. Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin hit five of 11 passes for 33 yards and ran five times for seven yards in the first quarter.
On Baylor’s lone drive into Oklahoma territory in the first quarter, Travis Lewis and Jeremy Beal sacked Griffin for a five-yard loss back to the 37 on a fourth-and-seven play.
“I certainly could have done a better job anticipating them defensively to allow us better opportunities for offensive execution,” Briles said. “It’s critical that when opportunities arise to take advantage of them. We let a couple of good opportunities slide away early in the game on both sides of the ball.”
For the second straight game, Griffin had more than 20 carries. After Connecticut limited him to 46 yards on 23 carries, Griffin picked up 102 yards on 21 carries and scored both touchdowns in the second quarter against the Sooners.
“We’d like to cut down on Robert’s carries,” Briles said. “He had four or five quarterback sneaks and had some pass plays where he pulled down the ball and ran. We’re looking for him to have about 10 carries on called plays, and that’s enough to utilize what he brings to the table.”
Briles believes the Bears will face another big challenge when they host Iowa State at 6 p.m. Saturday at Floyd Casey Stadium. After opening up a 20-0 halftime lead against Kansas, the Cyclones dropped a 35-33 decision Saturday in Ames.
“Iowa State is a team that has continually improved like they did last year,” Briles said. “This is a huge game for us. We’re hungry as a staff and a program for a conference win.”
jwerner@wacotrib.com
757-5716
Comments
By GreenGold75
Oct 6, 2008 4:01 PM | Link to this
For those who think Baylor should be "playing in a league with SMU" or "dropped to division III" open your eyes and take a look at some of the other scores from Saturday. "Traditional Powers" Nebraska, Texas A & M, Colorado, and Kansas State all lost by around 30 or so points just as we did. And none of them were playing anyone as good as the Oklahoma Sooners. As a matter of fact I see better hope for Baylor to "get there" quicker than most of those other teams. Baylor is going to compete again
under Briles. This will be borne out in time. It wasn't that long ago that Kansas and Kansas State were both 0 & 10 and played each other to a tie.
By B.T.
Oct 6, 2008 3:43 PM | Link to this
Ditto on the option, na. Not many defenses know how to defend it, especially when you have as many options as Baylor does.
If Baylor sees improvement in the secondary and at receiver, this team could go a long way in the future.
First, move Kris Buerk back to WR. He was good there and has shown to be better on the field for us at WR than CB. This has to take place to help both positions.
Next, recruit depth for the secondary. Quit converting kids and get some legit DBs with DB experience. After what I saw on Saturday, the secondary depth chart should be wide open come springtime.
By na
Oct 6, 2008 3:26 PM | Link to this
are we going to beat iowa state ?
By zembolist coleman
Oct 6, 2008 2:49 PM | Link to this
What i don't understand is that you have a lot of talant on the sidelines with you. You also have a runningback who should be given a few snaps behind the center to have the oposing defense unsure of what to do when they face a different QB in a situation. You will be also give the actual starting QB a breather plus looking from the sidelines to see the weaknesses on the defense. Look at the NFL team Miami Dolphins they have a runningback taking snaps in the shotgun as to where he could run it or throw it. Not only that it's a great idea,it's working so far. It has the defense baffled,and it's working the morjority of the time. I like what you have going,but I even know you have a quarterback converted into a runningback. I don't mean to be biased because he's my nephew but he's has God given talent. He also has been a winner since grade school and he knows that he is not the only person on the team,meaning there is no I in team.
By David
Oct 6, 2008 11:30 AM | Link to this
This may be the best Baylor team since 1972-1973. Problem is that they are among the best conferences in the country. Make no mistake, OK had the 27 point spread covered in the 2nd qtr. It could have been a 50 point win easily. Bears are coming but have a long way to go before they get ther. Just be thankful that we may beat AM this year.
By Alan
Oct 6, 2008 8:06 AM | Link to this
For the past decade I've been driving to Waco for every Baylor - Oklahoma game. I too saw improvement on the field and believe Coach Briles will 'get it done,' if given enough time.
Baylor fans have to leave that part of the program up to Coach Briles and the players he recruits.
On the other hand, if they want to do their part, they can begin by attending games and supporting their team in the stands.
Traditionally, Baylor fans are the nicest in the Big 12.
I attended my first Baylor game in Waco as a boy in 1974, (OU won 28-11). But I was impressed them when after the game when the announcer asked the Baylor fans to 'step aside and let the OU fans exit first, as they have a long drive back to Oklahoma this evening.'
The kindness and hospitality continues to this day, and it's the primary reason why many fans around the conference root for Baylor to make it.
But Baylor fans have to be in attendance in order to make this hospitality, and their passion for the program, more apparent.
By rr
Oct 6, 2008 4:48 AM | Link to this
Well, there have been a few condescending remarks about Georgia Tech (of the ACC) and the logical implication that Big 12 defenses would take care of GT nicely enough. Dare I point out that the ACC is 4-0 vs. the Big 12? Dare I say that, in ACC country, Kansas State, Baylor, A&M, Nebraska, Iowa State, Colorado, Nebraska, while deserving of respect, do not strike fear in anyone's hearts. The jury is still out on Kansas, TTech, and OSU who have all played astoundingly soft schedules. The only 'Big' in the Big 12, so far, is OU, Texas, and Mizzou.
By timesflyin46
Oct 6, 2008 12:08 AM | Link to this
Briles comments that our Bears are closer to the Sooners than the score showed is a ridiculous statement. We do have a quarterback to build the future on even the Sooner fans who were there were very encouraged about his future, as for Briles, I hope he gets it right but if he thinks we are anywhere in the ballpark with OU or the other powers in the big 12 he is either hallucinating or living in his own little world. GO BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!
By null
Oct 5, 2008 11:45 PM | Link to this
baylor just needs to go to div-III where they can actually win some games. The big 12 is not for them
By KDF
Oct 5, 2008 8:57 PM | Link to this
Kyle, I say this in friendliness. Your comment on this being the best Baylor team you've seen in over a decade -- what do you base this on?? Until Baylor begins winning again, especially against ranked teams, I can't imagine them being as good as they once were. Not yet. <
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