No. 18 FB Dominates 2nd Half in Upset Over No. 4 Oklahoma
11/13/2021 4:50:00 PM | Football
Bears bounce back with 27-14 victory against Sooners
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Watching TCU fans storm the field after the Horned Frogs' 30-28 upset of then-No. 12 Baylor, quarterback Gerry Bohanon thought to himself, "That must be a good feeling."
On Saturday, he found out just how good.
Bouncing back from a tough outing when he was picked off twice, Bohanon threw a touchdown pass and rushed for two more in leading the 18th-ranked Bears to a 27-14 upset victory over the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners Saturday afternoon before a season-high crowd of 46,782 at McLane Stadium.
In a bizarre ending, the Baylor student section stormed the field with three seconds left on the clock and had to be cleared for a 32-yard field goal by Isaiah Hankins on the last play of the game after Oklahoma's defense returned from the locker room.
Following the game, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda explained that he called the timeout and kicked the field goal at the end because of a potential point-differential tiebreaker for the Big 12 Championship game. Since the Bears had lost to Oklahoma State, 24-14, this gives them a plus-3 in a potential three-way tie.
"There's a bunch of ways things could go," Aranda said, "but one way could be is that you have some two-loss teams. So, we wanted to be in that position."
Other than irritating OU coach Lincoln Riley, all it did was give the Baylor fans a second chance to storm the field and Bohanon more time to take it all in.
"That was my first time experiencing that. I've only seen it on TV," Bohanon said. "It's just a good feeling to know that everybody is behind us. . . . We feed off those guys, and they feed off us. It's just amazing, to be honest with you."
With the win, Baylor improves to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the Big 12, just a game behind the Sooners (9-1, 6-1) and Oklahoma State (9-1, 6-1). OU still has games remaining against Iowa State and Oklahoma State, potentially setting up a three-way tie for first place.
"We, obviously, knew this was a huge game for us," said linebacker Terrel Bernard, who had nine tackles and two of the defense's five sacks. "It's like that every week, but especially when you get later on into the season. It goes back to a week of preparation – everybody refocused, locked-in, just came to work every day. It paid off."
In beating the Sooners for the first time in seven years, the Bears also ended OU's national-best 17-game winning streak and handed Riley his first November loss in five seasons as Oklahoma's head coach.
Blitzed for a season-high 562 yards last week in a 30-28 loss to the Horned Frogs, Baylor's defense held OU to 260 yards, the fewest in Riley's five seasons as a head coach and two years as the offensive coordinator before that. It was also the Sooners' fewest points in a regular-season game since a 48-14 home loss to the Bears in 2014.
After losing outside linebackers coach Joey McGuire, who left to become the head coach at Texas Tech, "there was probably a lot of emotion on that side of it early in the week," Aranda said.
"Focus-wise, distraction-wise, all of that was real," he said. "To keep your eyes on the target and to keep guys working things they can control, as opposed things outside of, I think was huge today. (Defensive coordinator Ron Roberts) woke up with his game face on this morning. I could tell there was some intensity there, and I think that fed off to the group."
The defense came out with its hair on fire from the first series, when the Bears dumped Kennedy Brooks for a four-yard loss and then sacked freshman QB Caleb Williams for another six-yard loss. They forced a 3-and-out, then got an interception from cornerback Kalon "Boogie" Barnes on the next series and held OU to just 26 yards in the first quarter.
"I think it started from this week of practice. We had a great week," Bernard said. "Coach Roberts and Coach Aranda put together a great game plan. Then, we came out and executed. We won our 1-on-1 shots down the field, we started getting pressure and then we stopped the running game, so it was hard for them to move the ball the whole game."
Baylor had a couple scoring chances early, but Bohanon missed Thornton in the end zone on a fourth-down play from the OU 4-yard line, then Hankins missed a 51-yard field goal attempt wide right.
That frustration only heightened when safety Delarrin Turner-Yell intercepted a Bohanon pass on the second play of the second quarter. After completing just one of his first five passes, Williams seemed to get in a good groove, hitting four-straight passes in a nine-play, 78-yard drive and then took it in from two yards out to give OU the 7-0 lead.
Bohanon had his own early struggles, hitting just two of his first nine passes. But, he was 3-for-3 for 33 yards as the Bears answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive. They got the equalizer on Bohanon's eight-yard TD pass to Thornton over Oklahoma safety Key Lawrence.
"We put an emphasis on scoring, because we knew we left some points on the board," said Bohanon, who was 12-of-21 for 117 yards and one TD with the one interception. "For sure, the game could have been worse than it was. Guys came into halftime, and we knew that we were playing hard, we just needed to finish."
Breaking a 7-7 halftime tie, Baylor took the lead for good on a 32-yard field goal by Hankins on its opening drive of the third quarter and then tacked on 17 fourth-quarter points to put this one away.
Still nursing that 10-7 lead going into the fourth quarter, Baylor got the big play it needed when Abram Smith found a seam and was off to the races for a 75-yard run. Linebacker Shane Whittier made a touchdown-saving tackle at the 8-yard line, but Bohanon scored three plays later on a third-and-goal from the 5.
"No matter how he's feeling, he's going to give you everything he's got." Bohanon said of Smith, who finished with 148 yards on 20 carries, his seventh 100-yard game of the season. "I think seeing him run the ball motivates everybody else around."
Spencer Rattler, a Heisman Trophy favorite at the start of the season, was mostly ineffective when he subbed in for two series. He was 4-of-6 for 36 yards, but was sacked twice and never got the Sooners anywhere close to scoring position.
Already leading by double digits, Baylor put together an impressive 11-play, 80-yard drive that took nearly six minutes off the clock. Smith and Ebner did most of the work to get there, but Bohanon finished it off again with a 14-yard TD run that made it 24-7 with only 3:57 left in the game.
Baylor rushed for 206 yards on 26 carries in the second half alone and finished with 296 yards on 47 attempts for a 6.3-yard average.
"I think on Sunday, everybody made their mind up that we're going to be the most violent team on the field," said Bohanon, who rushed for a career-high 107 yards and two TDs on nine carries (11.3-yard average). "We're going to be the most exciting team to play, and it shows."
Inserted back in the game, Williams led the Sooners to a quick touchdown that cut the deficit to 24-14. The freshman QB hit Jadon Haselwood for a 50-yard pass and then scrambled for a 12-yard pick-up before Brooks scored from the 1-yard line.
After Ebner recovered an onside kick, Hankins connected on a 42-yard field goal with 1:27 left, but the Bears took the points off the board when OU's Marcus Stripling was flagged for roughing the snapper.
Running out most of the remaining time with two kneel-downs, Baylor put the points back on the board with Hankins' 32-yarder on the final play of the game, setting off another storming the field by the Baylor fans.
"I don't think there are words to describe how I'm feeling, to be honest with you," Bohanon said. "I don't think there are words to describe how that locker room is feeling. That was just motivation for what we can do and be as a team."
Baylor, which improved to 6-0 at home, goes back on the road to face Kansas State (7-3, 4-3) at 4:30 p.m. next Saturday, Nov. 20, in Manhattan, Kan. K-State won its fourth in a row, beating West Virginia, 34-17.
Baylor Bear Insider
Watching TCU fans storm the field after the Horned Frogs' 30-28 upset of then-No. 12 Baylor, quarterback Gerry Bohanon thought to himself, "That must be a good feeling."
On Saturday, he found out just how good.
Bouncing back from a tough outing when he was picked off twice, Bohanon threw a touchdown pass and rushed for two more in leading the 18th-ranked Bears to a 27-14 upset victory over the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners Saturday afternoon before a season-high crowd of 46,782 at McLane Stadium.
In a bizarre ending, the Baylor student section stormed the field with three seconds left on the clock and had to be cleared for a 32-yard field goal by Isaiah Hankins on the last play of the game after Oklahoma's defense returned from the locker room.
Following the game, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda explained that he called the timeout and kicked the field goal at the end because of a potential point-differential tiebreaker for the Big 12 Championship game. Since the Bears had lost to Oklahoma State, 24-14, this gives them a plus-3 in a potential three-way tie.
"There's a bunch of ways things could go," Aranda said, "but one way could be is that you have some two-loss teams. So, we wanted to be in that position."
Other than irritating OU coach Lincoln Riley, all it did was give the Baylor fans a second chance to storm the field and Bohanon more time to take it all in.
"That was my first time experiencing that. I've only seen it on TV," Bohanon said. "It's just a good feeling to know that everybody is behind us. . . . We feed off those guys, and they feed off us. It's just amazing, to be honest with you."
With the win, Baylor improves to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the Big 12, just a game behind the Sooners (9-1, 6-1) and Oklahoma State (9-1, 6-1). OU still has games remaining against Iowa State and Oklahoma State, potentially setting up a three-way tie for first place.
"We, obviously, knew this was a huge game for us," said linebacker Terrel Bernard, who had nine tackles and two of the defense's five sacks. "It's like that every week, but especially when you get later on into the season. It goes back to a week of preparation – everybody refocused, locked-in, just came to work every day. It paid off."
In beating the Sooners for the first time in seven years, the Bears also ended OU's national-best 17-game winning streak and handed Riley his first November loss in five seasons as Oklahoma's head coach.
Blitzed for a season-high 562 yards last week in a 30-28 loss to the Horned Frogs, Baylor's defense held OU to 260 yards, the fewest in Riley's five seasons as a head coach and two years as the offensive coordinator before that. It was also the Sooners' fewest points in a regular-season game since a 48-14 home loss to the Bears in 2014.
After losing outside linebackers coach Joey McGuire, who left to become the head coach at Texas Tech, "there was probably a lot of emotion on that side of it early in the week," Aranda said.
"Focus-wise, distraction-wise, all of that was real," he said. "To keep your eyes on the target and to keep guys working things they can control, as opposed things outside of, I think was huge today. (Defensive coordinator Ron Roberts) woke up with his game face on this morning. I could tell there was some intensity there, and I think that fed off to the group."
The defense came out with its hair on fire from the first series, when the Bears dumped Kennedy Brooks for a four-yard loss and then sacked freshman QB Caleb Williams for another six-yard loss. They forced a 3-and-out, then got an interception from cornerback Kalon "Boogie" Barnes on the next series and held OU to just 26 yards in the first quarter.
"I think it started from this week of practice. We had a great week," Bernard said. "Coach Roberts and Coach Aranda put together a great game plan. Then, we came out and executed. We won our 1-on-1 shots down the field, we started getting pressure and then we stopped the running game, so it was hard for them to move the ball the whole game."
Baylor had a couple scoring chances early, but Bohanon missed Thornton in the end zone on a fourth-down play from the OU 4-yard line, then Hankins missed a 51-yard field goal attempt wide right.
That frustration only heightened when safety Delarrin Turner-Yell intercepted a Bohanon pass on the second play of the second quarter. After completing just one of his first five passes, Williams seemed to get in a good groove, hitting four-straight passes in a nine-play, 78-yard drive and then took it in from two yards out to give OU the 7-0 lead.
Bohanon had his own early struggles, hitting just two of his first nine passes. But, he was 3-for-3 for 33 yards as the Bears answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive. They got the equalizer on Bohanon's eight-yard TD pass to Thornton over Oklahoma safety Key Lawrence.
"We put an emphasis on scoring, because we knew we left some points on the board," said Bohanon, who was 12-of-21 for 117 yards and one TD with the one interception. "For sure, the game could have been worse than it was. Guys came into halftime, and we knew that we were playing hard, we just needed to finish."
Breaking a 7-7 halftime tie, Baylor took the lead for good on a 32-yard field goal by Hankins on its opening drive of the third quarter and then tacked on 17 fourth-quarter points to put this one away.
Still nursing that 10-7 lead going into the fourth quarter, Baylor got the big play it needed when Abram Smith found a seam and was off to the races for a 75-yard run. Linebacker Shane Whittier made a touchdown-saving tackle at the 8-yard line, but Bohanon scored three plays later on a third-and-goal from the 5.
"No matter how he's feeling, he's going to give you everything he's got." Bohanon said of Smith, who finished with 148 yards on 20 carries, his seventh 100-yard game of the season. "I think seeing him run the ball motivates everybody else around."
Spencer Rattler, a Heisman Trophy favorite at the start of the season, was mostly ineffective when he subbed in for two series. He was 4-of-6 for 36 yards, but was sacked twice and never got the Sooners anywhere close to scoring position.
Already leading by double digits, Baylor put together an impressive 11-play, 80-yard drive that took nearly six minutes off the clock. Smith and Ebner did most of the work to get there, but Bohanon finished it off again with a 14-yard TD run that made it 24-7 with only 3:57 left in the game.
Baylor rushed for 206 yards on 26 carries in the second half alone and finished with 296 yards on 47 attempts for a 6.3-yard average.
"I think on Sunday, everybody made their mind up that we're going to be the most violent team on the field," said Bohanon, who rushed for a career-high 107 yards and two TDs on nine carries (11.3-yard average). "We're going to be the most exciting team to play, and it shows."
Inserted back in the game, Williams led the Sooners to a quick touchdown that cut the deficit to 24-14. The freshman QB hit Jadon Haselwood for a 50-yard pass and then scrambled for a 12-yard pick-up before Brooks scored from the 1-yard line.
After Ebner recovered an onside kick, Hankins connected on a 42-yard field goal with 1:27 left, but the Bears took the points off the board when OU's Marcus Stripling was flagged for roughing the snapper.
Running out most of the remaining time with two kneel-downs, Baylor put the points back on the board with Hankins' 32-yarder on the final play of the game, setting off another storming the field by the Baylor fans.
"I don't think there are words to describe how I'm feeling, to be honest with you," Bohanon said. "I don't think there are words to describe how that locker room is feeling. That was just motivation for what we can do and be as a team."
Baylor, which improved to 6-0 at home, goes back on the road to face Kansas State (7-3, 4-3) at 4:30 p.m. next Saturday, Nov. 20, in Manhattan, Kan. K-State won its fourth in a row, beating West Virginia, 34-17.
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