Baylor @ Oklahoma preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 23, 2017 ) Oklahoma 49, Baylor 41

Oklahoma has developed a reputation in recent years for getting upset early at least once each season and putting itself in a compromising situation when it comes time for the College Football Playoff committee to choose their final four teams. The fifth-ranked Sooners managed to avoid an unlikely scare last weekend and hope they can recover in time to continue their domination of Baylor when the Big 12 rivals square off Saturday in Norman.

One of college football's most prolific offenses entering last weekend, Oklahoma found itself engaged in the slugfest at home with Army and before coming away with a 28-21 overtime victory in a contest in which the Knights held the ball for nearly 45 minutes and ran 87 plays to the Sooners' 40. “Our guys hung in there. … If there’s a couple plays that game that you don’t make, it’s going to be a close game against them. Those couple plays that we had a chance to separate, we didn’t do it," coach Lincoln Riley told reporters after the game. The Bears have quickly put last year's 1-11 nightmare behind them under second-year coach Matt Rhule, although their wins thus far have come against Abilene Christian, Texas-San Antonio and Kansas. While all of the Bears' victories against the Sooners have come over the last decade, Oklahoma holds a commanding 24-3 advantage in the all-time series, including 12-1 at home.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC. LINE: Oklahoma -23.5.

ABOUT BAYLOR (3-1, 1-0 Big 12): At least for one week, sophomore Charlie Brewer ended the Bears' quarterback by committee with Jalan McClendon, going 19-of-27 for 221 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 56 more on a team-high 12 carries as Baylor defeated Kansas 26-7. Josh Fleeks turned the first five catches of his college career into 65 yards and a touchdown while fellow freshman receiver Tyquan Thornton scored for the second straight week and leads the team (among those with more than one reception) with a 20.5-yard per catch average on his eight receptions. Tennessee transfer and running back-turned-receiver Jalen Hurd is tied for fifth in the conference in catches (22) and ranks sixth in receiving yards (311).

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (4-0, 1-0): Sophomore Kenneth Murray (47 tackles) more than doubled his season-long production entering last weekend's game, finishing with a school-record 28 tackles - the highest total ever recorded by a FBS player since the NCAA began keeping track of the stat in 2000. Fellow linebacker Curtis Bolton (46) doubled his tackle numbers through three games with 23 stops against Army, marking only the second time the Sooners have had two players record at least 20 tackles in the same game (1974, Texas). Trey Sermon was the only running back to log a rushing attempt against the Knights and ran for a season-high 119 yards on 18 carries, while quarterback Kyler Murray amassed 284 total yards and accounted for all four touchdowns.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Sooners' 40 offensive plays last weekend were their fewest in a game since 1960 and stand as the third-lowest total in school history.

2. Baylor's nine tackles for loss against Kansas were its most in a game since last year's season opener against Liberty (10).

3. Sermon ran 12 times for a career-high 148 yards and two TDs in the fourth quarter alone last year as Oklahoma rallied for a 49-41 road victory over the Bears.

PREDICTION: Oklahoma 48, Baylor 20