Hang in There, Bears
There were a lot of long faces in Waco on Sunday, and rightfully so. This is, by far, the closest Baylor has come to a BCS game, not to mention a possible National Championship, in the history of the program. But they ran into a buzzsaw in Stillwater in the form of the OSU Cowboys, and it wasn’t even close.
Oklahoma State 49, Baylor 17
Baylor wasn’t “exposed” or anything like that. They simply got beat by a good team that has been on a roll, and don’t underestimate the advantage of Boone Pickens Stadium at night. Play this game 10 times on the same field during the day and they probably split them. Play it at night – OSU might win eight. The stands are literally on top of the field and there’s simply an electricity in that building that is hard to turn off for the opposition. Baylor found out the hard way, as many others have too.
By the way, the Reverse Barometer called it this past Friday.
Oklahoma State has been waiting in the weeds while Baylor was stealing all of the headlines. It worked out just the way they imagined, snatching the tie-breaker over Baylor with the win while looking for their second Big 12 title in three seasons. Just imagine where they would be had they not lost to West Virginia in early October? Either way, they probably end up in the Fiesta Bowl (behind Bama, Fla St., and Ohio State). And you don’t want to know who they might face (psst., it rhymes with Chesno Pate; thank goodness this is the last year of the BCS).
The Cowboys still have a semi-big game ahead. I say “big” because it is Oklahoma. I say “semi” because it is 2013 Oklahoma. With the game being played in Stillwater and the fact that OU is a paper tiger, I’m not feeling it. OSU wins this one in a walk.
What’s next for Baylor? Well, they still have a lot to play for. The best season in the modern era for the Bears probably will still happen, and a Big 12 title is still not out of the question, let alone a possible BCS at-large bid. My money is on the Cotton Bowl though. (Anyone interested in watching a mega-entertaining game between Baylor and A&M? It’s possible, but I think Mizzou ends up in Jerryworld in January while the Aggies go to Florida for the Capital One or Outback Bowl).
Aggies Sputter on the Bayou
Speaking of the Aggies, they served up quite a clunker at LSU over the weekend (but, hey, your uniforms looked cool). In 23 games during the Johnny Manziel era, he had never really had a bad game. The 24th one was. He was notably out of synch, as was the entire team. Give credit to LSU though; they came to play and their defense played outstanding for 60 minutes.
It will be interesting to see how the Aggies react as they prepare for the season finale at Mizzou next week. A&M hasn’t faced much adversity over the last two seasons. This week will be quite telling as to how good a coach Kevin Sumlin really is.
Easy Decision for Stoops
Bob Stoops had a problem. It appears he may have a solution. It’s been evident all year that the team was having trouble getting untracked offensively with Blake Bell under center. Not the case with Trevor Knight in the game.
Bell’s ability to be effective in short-yardage situations as a back-up over the last two years was a great luxury for Stoops’ Sooners. It turned into a problem in 2013, as having Bell as the full-time starter made OU weaker in offensive capability.
Knight was the reason OU was able to stay out in front of Kansas State (with help from the Sooner defense). The kid can run AND throw (what a concept).
Guess who will be under center for the remainder of the season unless there’s an injury? Still, lots of work to do in Norman before they’re considered a National Championship contender again.
