There were a few dramatic upsets during Week 10 of college football. #9 Wake Forest lost a heartbreaker to archrival North Carolina by three points. #3 Michigan State was upset by Purdue to the tune of 40-29.
Will there be any more upsets in Week 11? Baylor would love nothing more than to ruin Oklahoma’s playoff hopes. Here’s a breakdown of this Saturday’s Sooners vs. Bears matchup.
This is a huge game for both schools as Oklahoma is a perfect 9-0 on the season while Baylor is 7-2. The Sooners should be rested coming off their bye week. They should also be highly motivated after being snubbed somewhat in the first College Football Playoff rankings.
Baylor Offense vs. Oklahoma Defense
Baylor lost a shocker to TCU last Saturday so they should be in a foul mood. The Bears will look to right the ship at home behind QB Gerry Bohanon, who has thrown for 1,967 and 15 TDs so far this year. Baylor’s best overall playmaker is RB Abram Smith, who has already racked up 1,055 rushing yards and 11 TDs.
The Bears should have plenty of success through the air, as OU’s pass defense has been suspect all year long. The Bears rank 20th in yards per pass while the Sooners rank 111th in yards per pass allowed (teamrankings.com). Will this edge be enough for the Bears to pull off the upset?
Oklahoma Offense vs. Baylor Defense
The Oklahoma offense looks completely different since Caleb Williams took over the starting QB job. The sensational freshman has thrown 14 TDs and just 1 INT so far. He’s also scored 4 rushing TDs.
OU’s RB Kennedy Brooks is having a fine season. The 5-11 215 pound junior has run for 802 yards and 9 TDs. Brooks is super talented, but he could have a hard time against the Baylor defensive line, which ranks 25th in yards per rush allowed.
The Sooners should be able to exploit a Baylor secondary that is allowing 7.7 yards per pass (84th). Look for Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley to have a few trick plays up his sleeve, especially since he had two weeks to prepare for this game. Baylor’s defense ranks 57th in yards per play allowed so OU should be able to put up some points in this one.
Our Pick: OVER 64
This game should be a high-scoring affair that is fun to watch. Oklahoma ranks 8th in the country in points per game (38.8) while Baylor puts up 32.6 points per contest. Both teams are also very efficient in the red zone, as OU ranks 2nd and Baylor 11th.
Another reason to take the Over is that both teams struggle in pass coverage. The Sooners give up 291.6 passing yards per game while the Bears surrender 252.5 passing yards per game. This should mean lots of explosive plays and possibly long TDs for each team’s offense. Take the Over and cheer for points in this one!