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Numbers behind Baylor’s performance that might have crushed OU’s CFP hopes

The No. 13 Baylor Bears pulled off a convincing upset of the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, dominating them on both sides of the ball in the 27-14 win. Bears quarterback Gerry Bohanon carried the day for Baylor’s offense, accumulating 224 total yards and three scores.

The bigger storyline, however, was Oklahoma’s offense — or lack thereof. Lincoln Riley’s crew failed to muster any consistency against the Bears, putting up one of its poorest statistical performances since he has been the head coach.

Here’s a look at some of the numbers explaining how Baylor coach Dave Aranda’s defense performed:

260: On Saturday, the Sooners’ 260 yards of total offense against the Bears was the lowest amount during Riley’s tenure in Norman. Oklahoma has failed to reach 300 yards of total offense in just two games since Riley became the head coach — and both have been against Baylor. The other time was last season when the Sooners had 269 yards of total offense in a 27-14 win.

4: Being the only team to hold a Riley-led offense at Oklahoma to under 300 yards isn’t easy. During Riley’s tenure, the Sooners have had four games where they eclipsed 700 yards of offense. Yet, Baylor has managed to shut down this offense in back-to-back seasons.

How did the Bears stop such a potent offense? They rattled Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams and made things difficult for him.

1-6: The freshman quarterback was pressured on nine of his 24 dropbacks, going 1-for-6 with two interceptions and two sacks when facing pressure. Before this game, he completed 54.5% of his passes while facing pressure and threw six touchdowns and no interceptions. Williams was replaced by Spencer Rattler in the third quarter before coming back in.

34: Against the blitz Saturday, Williams wasn’t great, throwing for only 34 yards and completing 37.5% of his passes. He had been sensational against extra pressure this season before Saturday, slinging three touchdowns while completing 68.2% of his throws.

6.3: Williams averaged 14.8 pass yards per attempt and nine scores when throwing the ball 10+ yards downfield entering Saturday’s game. He did not have the same downfield magic against the Bears, netting only 6.3 yards per attempt and failing to find the end zone.

3: Those are the number of points Baylor scored after students prematurely stormed the field thinking the game was over. After the field was cleared, Aranda opted to secure an extra three points, via a 32-yard field goal.

Riley was upset that Baylor wasn’t assessed a penalty for the field storming, but understood why Baylor kicked the field goal.

“I think they’re not happy with [the field goal],” Aranda said after the game. He said he decided to kick due to a point differential stipulation in the Big 12 tiebreakers.

32: After the upset loss, things aren’t looking good for Oklahoma’s College Football Playoff hopes. Its chances of being one of the four teams selected are now 32%. While the Sooners could still play for the Big 12 title, the regular season offers OU only one more game against a ranked opponent to impress the committee. That is the regular-season finale at the No. 10 Oklahoma State Cowboys.

ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this story.
Sourced from ESPN

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