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No. 10 Baylor travels to No. 16 Oklahoma Saturday
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Published: 11/8/2014  at  5:33:00 AM
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BAYLOR BEARS (7-1)
at OKLAHOMA SOONERS (6-2)

Kickoff: Saturday, Noon ET
Line: Oklahoma -6, Total: 72.5

No. 16 Oklahoma tries to remain in the Big 12 conference race when it hosts No. 10 Baylor on Saturday.

The Bears were able to bounce back from their first loss of the season (41-27 at West Virginia on Oct. 18) in a big way with a 60-14 pounding of Kansas last week. For Baylor, it has been key to score four touchdowns, as the club is 14-4 ATS when scoring at least 28 points over the past two seasons. The Sooners are also coming off a dominating victory, winning 59-14 at Iowa State to help ease the sting of losing at home to Kansas State on Oct. 18. Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops has been very good at home late in the season during his career, going 19-9 ATS in November games. These two schools played last season in Waco, with the Bears dominating en route to the 41-12 victory. They outgained the Sooners, 459-237, including 255-87 on the ground. When these schools last met in Norman in 2012, Oklahoma prevailed 42-34 with the passing advantage of 277 yards to 172 yards. Both teams are in pretty good shape for this contest, with no new injuries for Baylor and the possibility that the Sooners will have top skill players WR Sterling Shepard (groin) and RB Keith Ford (leg) both on the field for Saturday.

Can Oklahoma avoid its third loss in five games against a high-powered Baylor club? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014 regular season and bowl season. StatFox Gary is heating up with a 67% ATS mark (8-4) in Best Bets over the past four weeks.

The Bears offense is one again one of the very best in the nation, ranking first in scoring (50.4 PPG), 5th in passing (349.9 YPG) and 22nd in rushing (241.3 YPG). Head coach Art Briles has built one of the most explosive offenses in the country during his time at Baylor, and this year is no different. Quarterback Bryce Petty (2,034 pass yards, 23 total TD, 3 INT) has put up big numbers this year, but has not been near as accurate (54% completions) as he was last year (62% completions). Some of that has been because of injuries to receivers, as well as a lot of freshmen playing. However, despite some of the struggles, Petty did throw for 204 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT in his lone career start versus Oklahoma last year. RB Shock Linwood (154 carries, 777 yards, 10 TD) has been the most consistent player on the Bears offense. With defenses so worried about the Baylor passing game, Linwood has a lot of room to run in the middle of the field. The Bears have a ton of talent at the receiver position, especially freshman WR K.D. Cannon (36 catches, 714 yards, 6 TD). Cannon is a blur with the ball, capable of taking it for six points at any given moment. WR Corey Coleman (29 catches, 572 yards, 7 TD) is another young receiver who has shown to be an elite playmaker, while WR Antwan Goodley (29 catches, 480 yards, 4 TD) has dealt with a lot of injuries, but he is getting healthier each week. For the Bears to get the victory, they are going to have to get a big performance from the defense that allows only 21.9 PPG (32nd in nation). LB Bryce Hager (63 tackles, 6 TFL, 2 FF) is the inspirational leader of the defense. He uses his speed to run from sideline-to-sideline, making it difficult for opposing backs to run the ball. Junior DE Shawn Oakman (6 sacks, 31 tackles, 12 TFL) has given the Bears a player that can get after the quarterback. The defense must step up against an offense that showed signs of breaking out of a slump.

After scoring less than 40 points in three consecutive games, the Sooners exploded for 59 points against Iowa State last week The offense now ranks 9th in FBS scoring (41.5 PPG), 24th in rushing (231.8 YPG) and 41st in passing (262.9 YPG). After having a big game in the Sugar Bowl last season, expectations were high for QB Trevor Knight (2,051 pass yards, 17 total TD, 8 INT). He has been great at times this season, but he has also struggled at times. In the game against the Cyclones, he was able to throw 3 TD, but also tossed 2 INT. However, this mediocre passing game has forced the Sooners to become more of a running team. RBs Samaje Perine (150 carries, 767 yards, 11 TD) and Alex Ross (53 carries, 295 yards, 5 TD) are one of the best rushing duos in college football. Perine was not the starter earlier in the season, but has shown that he has a bright future. At 243 pounds, he is a rare combination of size and speed, and has filled him more than admirably for injured RB Keith Ford (194 rush yards, 5.7 YPC, 5 TD in 3 games), who might return to the field for the first time since Week 3. WR Sterling Shepard (50 catches, 957 yards, 5 TD) may not be 100 percent recovered from his groin injury, but he is still one of the best wideouts in the nation. In the loss to Kansas State two weeks ago, Shepard had 15 catches for 197 yards and one touchdown. The depth of the Sooners receivers has been a weakness this season, but WR Durron Neal (31 catches, 399 yards, 1 TD) is showing some potential. Sophomore LB Dominique Alexander (61 tackles, 3 TFL) has the most tackles for a unit that ranks 31st in the nation in scoring defense (21.8 PPG allowed). CBs Zack Sanchez (5 INT, 10 PD, 30 tackles) and Julian Wilson (31 tackles, 8 PD and 1 INT for a TD) form the Big 12’s best cornerback duo, but they will be tested often against the Bears explosive passing game.


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