Baylor @ Oklahoma State preview
Boone Pickens Stadium
Last Meeting ( Oct 24, 2009 ) Oklahoma State 34, Baylor 7
Since the formation of the Big 12 Conference, Texas and Oklahoma have dominated the South Division. Not this year.
In fact, when No. 22 Baylor and No. 18 Oklahoma State square off Saturday in Stillwater, Okla., the winner will have the inside track for the South title.
Baylor (7-2, 4-1 Big 12) currently has a half-game lead over Oklahoma State (7-1, 3-1) and Oklahoma (7-1, 3-1) in the division. The Sooners visit Texas A&M this weekend before closing the season with a home game vs. Texas Tech and road games at Baylor and Oklahoma State.
The Bears will need to avoid a lull after pulling off their greatest win in school history, going to Texas and leaving with a 30-22 victory.
Baylor trailed 19-17 entering the fourth quarter against Texas, but scored two touchdowns to take a 30-19 lead. Bears quarterback Robert Griffin scored on a 1-yard sneak and hit Kendall Wright with a 30-yard touchdown pass.
Griffin completed 16 of 24 passes for 219 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Wright finished with five catches and 54 yards and Terrence Williams had three catches for 77 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown reception.
Defensively, the Bears were outgained by the Longhorns 428-328. But Baylor forced two turnovers, held Texas to 6 of 15 on third-down conversions and allowed three field goals and one touchdown when the Longhorns were in the red zone.
And the Bears were without one of their top defensive backs, sophomore Chance Casey, who has been sidelined with a leg injury and is questionable to return this week.
Oklahoma State, meanwhile, is coming off an impressive 24-14 victory at Kansas State last week.
The Cowboys were without standout sophomore wide receiver Justin Blackmon, who was arrested on a DUI charge last week and was suspended for the game. Blackmon, who leads the country with 1,112 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, is expected to return this week.
Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden fared fine without Blackmon, though, torching the K-State defense for 298 yards on 22-of-39 passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Cowboys running back Kendall Hunter had a good outing, rushing for 143 yards on 28 carries.
Defensively, Oklahoma State junior safety Johnny Thomas had a 26-yard interception return for a score. Senior linebacker Orie Lemon led the team with 10 tackles.
Finally, it’s worth noting, that Saturday’s game is the 29th meeting between Baylor and Oklahoma State. The Cowboys lead the all-time series 16-12, including winning the past eight. It is also the first time both teams are ranked when facing each other.
Oklahoma State is 3-1 when facing Baylor as a ranked team. The only time that Oklahoma State faced a ranked Baylor squad was in the 1983 Bluebonnet Bowl, and the Cowboys went on to a 24-14 victory over the 20th-ranked Bears.