No. 10 Baylor sent No. 6 Oklahoma State careening from the ranks of the unbeatens, ending the Pokes 12-game winning streak with a 45-35 win Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium. And now, if they hope to claim their third straight Big 12 championship, Baylor gets to turn around and root for these Pokes next week.
Baylor led 14-0 just over three minutes in and 24-14 at the half thanks to the rocket arm of freshman Jarrett Stidham and lightning legs of Corey Coleman, K.D. Cannon and Jay Lee, as Stidham hit 12-of-21 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game at halftime with an ankle injury. Third-string quarterback (and former wide receiver) Chris Johnson played the entire second half and picked up where Stidham left off, ending his first two drives with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Lee and a 71-yarder to Cannon, pushing the lead back to a comfortable 38-14 with 6:24 to go in the third quarter.
Oklahoma State eventually found its footing on defense and pulled within 38-28 with five minutes remaining, but Johnson pushed the Bears 30 yards in seven plays, capping the march with a four-yard touchdown run, to put the game away with 2:10 remaining.
Johnson, a 6-foot-5 sophomore who had not recorded a statistic this season, completed 5-of-10 throws for 138 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
But it was Baylor’s massive edge in the trenches that won them this game. The Bears out-rushed Oklahoma State 303-8. Yes, you read that correctly. Chris Carson led Oklahoma State’s ground efforts with 20 yards on six carries. Six different Bears topped that number, led by Shock Linwood‘s 91 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Johnny Jefferson added 62 yards, Devin Chaffin 60 and Johnson trotted for 42 yards on six carries.
Mason Rudolph completed 27-of-50 passes for 430 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions but was sacked six times. He was credited with seven carries for minus-38 yards on the night.
Baylor (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) shoots back to the top of the Big 12 standings, needing Oklahoma State to beat Oklahoma next week in Stillwater to secure a Big 12 championship. Oklahoma State (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) can win a share of the title with a win over Oklahoma next week, but the Pokes would need a Baylor loss to TCU to win the league outright.
Both teams, however, are still on the outside looking in of the College Football Playoff picture - and will remain that way unless Armageddon breaks out between now and Selection Sunday.