In what began as defensive looking struggle between the Baylor Bears and Oklahoma Sooners Thursday night in Waco, the Baylor offense finally found its rhythm in the second quarter and busted open a 3-0 first quarter lead with 21 second quarter points and never looked back on their way to a 41-12 victory.
Led by tailback Shock Linwood’s 182 yards rushing on 23 carries, the Bears showed they aren’t just a one-dimensional passing attack offense, as QB Bryce Petty had a somewhat perfunctory performance by his normal passing standards with 3 touchdowns and 206 yards passing (he did also run for 2 more). 
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the game was the complete domination the Bears defense had over OU’s offense. The Sooners failed to score at least 13 points for just the 11th time in Bob Stoops’ 195 games as head man in Norman, and Baylor held the Sooners to just 150 yards passing and 84 yards rushing. This was the 4th worst margin of defeat for a Stoops led Sooners squad ever. We knew Baylor could score, and now it looks like they can play some D as well.
The Bears haven’t punched their BCS ticket just yet, as they still have games in Waco against Texas Tech and Texas, and road games against Oklahoma State and TCU. But with an 8-0 start (first time ever) and the Oregon Ducks falling to Stanford last night, they’re now at least in the conversation
As pointed out to me by a disgruntled Sooner friend last night, Baylor still has a long ways to go to catch Oklahoma in their all-time series (now 21-2 Sooners), but for tonight and this season, Waco has bragging rights over Norman.
