Game Day Thread: Baylor (9-0) vs. Oklahoma (8-1)

The Baylor Bears (9-0) return home to McLane Stadium to take on the Oklahoma Sooners (8-1) on Saturday evening as the Bears host ESPN College GameDay for the third time since 2014. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be aired live on ABC.

Baylor vs. Oklahoma Articles

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Matt Rhule Quote of the Week...

“I think they’ve embraced the 1-0 mindset because the outside importance on each game is only there if you win the previous ones, so it only stacks upon each other. But, I think it’s coming from the players. The fact that we can win and they can still not be satisfied is unbelievable and it’s hard to do. And as a coach, it keeps me in check. Sometimes, I come in like, ‘Hey, we won. And that was a hard game.’ And the guys are saying, ‘We need to do this better.’ I think that comes from the Sam Tecklenburgs and the Jordan Williams and the JaMycal Hastys and the Chris Platts and Denzel Mims and Blake Lynch, all those seniors that I was talking about. I think those guys are just really setting the bar high, and they’ve done it week-in and week-out. We had a level of intensity for UTSA that allowed this game to matter. If you don’t beat UTSA, then this game doesn’t really matter. I think they’ve handled that. And I think the thing that we’ve had to learn is when you’re a good team, people are going to do different things to you.”

Baylor’s Key Players

Quarterback #12 Charlie Brewer — The game plan utilized against Texas Tech last year is the kind of formula Baylor needs to try to emulate. This will all come down to Brewer’s ability to be precise and take advantage of the opportunities when they are presented. Last year against Oklahoma, he threw for 400 yards and had three touchdowns so he is plenty comfortable to have some success.

Wide Receiver #5 Denzel Mims — The Bears WR1 is about to get just what the doctored ordered which is a matchup against his favorite opponent, Oklahoma. In two games against the Sooners he has 22 receptions for 306 yards and four touchdowns. Mims has to come out and dominate them once again as the Bears are going to need to score points in this matchup. Mims can play a big role in that this weekend.

Defensive linemen #99 Bravvion Roy — This weekend against Oklahoma, the Bears will be facing one of the best yet youngest offensive lines in the Big 12. Best because they average nearly 250 yards on the ground and have only given up 10 sacks this season. Youngest because they start four redshirt sophomores and one redshirt freshman. Roy will be the oldest player up front along with Lockhart. His key matchup will be with future high NFL Draft pick center Creed Humphrey.

Safety #1 Grayland Arnold and #3 Chris Miller — Arnold is coming off of an outstanding two interception performance as he continues to have a very nice season. He needs to continue this trend in the right direction because his nose for the football changes the defense completely. He gives the defense a real playmaking ability. Glad to see Chris Miller back after missing last weekends game against TCU. He has got to play smarter and keep himself on the field, he is far to valuable o miss more games. His ability to fly to the football and shut down the run game is very important to this defense and especially in this game. He will be tracking down ball carriers all night and hopefully making them pay without targeting.

Oklahoma’s Key Players

Quarterback #1 Jalen Hurts — Hurts has been in these top 15 battles many times and typically has come away with a win. He has a QBR above 96 when throwing from the pocket against 3-man rushes but when he is forced outside the pocket it drops to around 65. That will be a key if Baylor can get enough pressure with its three man front to force Hurts to roll out and scan the field.

Wide receiver #2 CeeDee Lamb — One of the best receivers in the country and a top 10 NFL prospect in this class. Lamb has racked up 983 yards and 13 touchdowns on 44 receptions. That is 22.3 yards per catch! Once he catches the football he turns into a running back so limiting his yards after catch will be a priority. 

Defensive tackle #90 Neville Gallimore — The 6’2, 302-pound redshirt senior has been a staple of the Oklahoma defensive line for four years now. He only has eight sacks and 16 tackles for loss in his career but he has three of those sacks this season. Clearly he has made some strides at getting after the quarterback. Oklahoma loss fellow defensive tackle Kenneth Mann for the season so a ton of eyes and lots of focus will be on blocking Gallimore.

Linebacker #9 Kenneth Murray – The Big 12’s preseason defensive player of the year has had another good season but he isn’t quite as productive as he was a year ago. He has 62 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Very good but not quite reaching his 155 tackle total from a year ago. Murray is extremely active and just a flat out beast in the run game, he fills gaps extremely well and moves quickly for a 243-pound player.