3 Bold Predictions for Baylor vs Oklahoma in Big 12 Championship Game
By Michael Luciano
The wide-open Big 12 will oddly enough send their best defensive team to the Big 12 Championship, as Matt Rhule's Baylor Bears gear up for a rematch against Jalen Hurts and a tremendously diverse Oklahoma offense that blitzed back from a massive halftime deficit to pull off an improbable win in Waco. Oklahoma's one loss this year was against a Kansas State team that is awfully reminiscent of the Bears' style of play, so this game is as close to a toss-up as it gets.
3. Charlie Brewer Fails to Top 200 Passing Yards
Brewer is exactly what Rhule and this Baylor team need their quarterback to do, as he has enough moxie to make some big plays and won't turn the ball over. If tasked to win the game with his arm, however, that is where he comes up short. Brewer has topped 200 yards passing in just one of his last four games, and has at least one turnover in three of them. Oklahoma's defense might be tissue soft, but Brewer is in a rut right now, and a conference championship isn't the place to dig yourself out all of a sudden.
2. Phil Snow's Defense Sacks Jalen Hurts Five Times
Lincoln Riley is great at what he does, but Baylor DC Phil Snow is one of the brightest defensive minds in all of college football. Without blitzing heavily, his fronts are still able to get consistent pressure. That first half in Waco was a crash course in how to rattle a quarterback on the road. Don't expect Riley and the Sooners to come out THAT flat in the championship game, but Hurts will be under fire most of the game.
1. Oklahoma Comes Back Again And Wins It Late
Baylor's style of football revolves around getting out to an early lead, and then keeping said lead through dominant defense and efficiency at quarterback. It's what got them that early advantage the first time around. However, Riley is among the best in college football at adapting in-game. With Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks in the backfield, CeeDee Lamb out wide, and Hurts at quarterback, it won't take Riley long to figure out how to solve this puzzle and take home another win against Baylor.