Robert Griffin Leads Baylor To Upset Of Oklahoma

Griffin set a new school record with 479 passing yards and four touchdowns.

Sunday, November 20th 2011, 12:45 am

By: News 9


Corey DeMoss, News9.com

WACO, Texas – Quarterback Robert Griffin III tossed a 34-yard touchdown with eight seconds remaining, and the Baylor Bears beat Oklahoma for the first time in school history Saturday with a 45-38 win.

OU trailed by seven, until Blake Bell delivered his fourth rushing touchdown of the game with 51 seconds left in regulation. The Sooners then lined up to go for a two-point conversion and take the lead, before Baylor called its final timeout.

After the timeout, OU again lined up to go for two. This time, an offensive lineman moved early and drew a penalty. The Sooners kicked an extra point to tie the game, and a touchback on the ensuing kickoff gave Baylor the ball at the 20-yard line.

With no timeouts remaining, Baylor ran a simple running play up the middle on its first play of the drive, seemingly content to go to overtime. But the Sooners – who still had all three of their timeouts – elected to use one and try to get the ball back. That move backfired.

Griffin broke a 22-yard run on the next play and also got out of bounds to stop the clock. Suddenly Baylor was near midfield and only 20 yards outside of field goal range. Griffin followed with an eight-run and 12-yard pass to move the ball to the 34-yard line, right on the fringe of kicker Aaron Jones' range.

But rather than play for a game-winning field goal, Griffin and the Bears went for it all on the next play. Griffin connected with Terrence Williams for a 34-yard touchdown, Griffin's fourth touchdown pass of the night.

On the ensuing kickoff, Baylor hit a squib kick down the middle of the field to prevent a big return. But the Sooners failed to fall on the live ball, and the Bears recovered to seal the win.

That squib kick marked the Sooners' third turnover of the game, while Baylor did not commit any. The Sooners also committed a total of nine penalties for 90 yards, including four different 15-yard penalties.

Griffin finished the night with 479 passing yards – a new Baylor school record – and he could have had even more. He threw an 80-yard touchdown on his first attempt of the night, but it was called back because of a holding penalty.

Griffin's favorite target, receiver Kendall Wright, finished with 208 yards on eight catches. His biggest play of the night came in the third quarter, when a ball ricocheted in the air and he caught it and ran 87 yards for a touchdown to tie the game 24-24. That play started a streak of 21 consecutive points for the Bears, who never trailed again.

Landry Jones, playing without his favorite target in Ryan Broyles, spread the ball to 10 different receivers. Jones finished with 447 yards with no touchdowns and one costly interception, while Jaz Reynolds led the receivers with 114 yards.

Backup quarterback Blake Bell continued to be the Sooners' go-to option in goal line situations. He ran the ball five times, four of them for touchdowns. He was also in at quarterback when OU lined up to go for its potential go-ahead two-point conversion at the end of the game.

Thursday's victory was Baylor's first in school history over the Sooners, ending a 20-game losing streak. It also marked the third significant upset of the weekend.

With Oklahoma State losing to Iowa State and Oregon losing to USC, three of the top five teams in the BCS fell to lower-ranked opponents. That could set the stage for LSU, Alabama and Arkansas being ranked the top three teams in the nation. They are all not only in the same conference, but in the same division.

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