5 takeaways from Baylor's loss to Oklahoma: Bears falter after fast start, but prove they deserve respect - The Dallas Morning News

Baylor appeared to be in the driver’s seat against Oklahoma, at one point holding a 28-3 lead.

But the Sooners showed why they have perennially been one of the top teams in the Big 12.

Baylor (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) watched as Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) erased a 25-point deficit en route to a 34-31 win on Saturday to give the Bears’ their first loss of the season.

Here are five takeaways from Baylor’s loss to Oklahoma on Saturday:

Baylor’s place in the Big 12 championship game appeared to be all but set before its matchup against Oklahoma thanks to Iowa State’s game-winning field goal against Texas.

And despite a loss to Oklahoma, it looks like this was just Part 1 between the Bears and Sooners.

Both teams are now at 9-1 and the closest teams behind them are Texas and Kansas State, who are tied at 6-4.

The first taste of Oklahoma-Baylor was thrilling, and it’s highly likely college football fans will get a second helping.

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Maybe no team in the AP Top 25 came into Saturday feeling more disrespected than Baylor.

The Bears came into Saturday’s showdown against Oklahoma as the No. 12 team in the nation, which makes them the lowest-ranked undefeated team in the nation.

A large part of that was because of Baylor’s strength of schedule up until this point.

Baylor’s only notable wins had come against Iowa State and Oklahoma State. The Bears also had a double-overtime win over Texas Tech and a triple-overtime win over TCU and barely beat West Virginia. All of those wins were too close for comfort for a team as high in the rankings as Baylor.

While the result didn’t go Baylor’s way against Oklahoma, the Bears earned respect on a national stage for just how hard they competed for a team that wasn’t supposed to be this far along in its development.

Head coach Matt Rhule just took over the team two seasons ago and the Bears stumbled out of the gates to a 1-11 season. The Bears impressed in 2018 with a 7-6 season and a Texas Bowl win over Vanderbilt. Improvement was expected this season, but not a 9-0 start.

And Baylor added some validity to that start by trading blows, and at times dominating, one of the best Big 12 teams in Oklahoma.

Fast starts have been a problem for Baylor as of late.

The Bears were coming off a win against TCU in which they had their first scoreless half in 18 games. Baylor had also failed to score in the first quarter four times in six Big 12 games this season

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That trend didn’t continue for the Bears against Oklahoma.

After being forced to punt on their first drive, the Bears scored touchdowns on their next four drives and build their lead up to 28-3 in the second quarter.

Baylor went into the halftime break with a 31-10 lead. It was just the third time this season Baylor scored more than 30 points in a half. The other two times were against Stephen F. Austin and UTSA.

While starting quarterback Charlie Brewer has been solid for Baylor this season, he’s also had a reputation for being a little overcautious.

He entered Saturday’s game against Oklahoma having completed 67 percent of his passes for 2,338 yards, but just 16 touchdowns.

Against Oklahoma, Brewer looked more comfortable making deeper throws.

Brewer got off to a good start by accounting for 73 yards of Baylor’s 10-play, 78-yard scoring drive. Brewer capped the drive off with a two-yard touchdown run.

On Baylor’s next drive, Brewer completed a beautiful 30-yard touchdown pass to Denzel Mims.

Brewer used his legs on Baylor’s next drive. He ran 23 yards on Baylor’s first play and then followed with a four-yard touchdown run on the next play.

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An Oklahoma turnover gave Brewer good position at the Sooners’ nine-yard line and Brewer took advantage with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Mims to give the Bears a 28-3 lead.

Brewer struggled in the second half as Baylor failed to score in the final two quarters and he threw an interception on Baylor’s final drive to give Oklahoma the win.

Brewer finished with 194 passing yards and two touchdowns and 65 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Maybe nobody deserves more credit than Baylor’s defense.

The Bears held Oklahoma, one of the best offenses in the nation, to just 10 first-half points.

Even more impressive, the Bears forced three turnovers, including two uncharacteristically from Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts.

The Bears’ defense finally started to wear down in the second half as Baylor’s offense wasn’t on the field long.

Baylor’s defense still deserves kudos for giving Oklahoma a challenge, it just couldn’t get enough help from the offense in the second half.

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5 takeaways from Baylor's loss to Oklahoma: Bears falter after fast start, but prove they deserve respect - The Dallas Morning News
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