Gerry Bohanon threw a touchdown pass and ran for two more scores, Baylor’s defense constantly pressured Oklahoma’s quarterbacks, and the Bears won 27-14 on Saturday in Waco, Texas, to end the Sooners’ national-best 17-game winning streak.
Abram Smith had 148 yards rushing, including a 75-yard scamper to set up the first of Bohanon’s rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and the Bears (8-2, 5-2 Big 12 Conference), No. 13 in the College Football Playoff rankings, rebounded from an unexpected loss last week at struggling Texas Christian.
“I know we’ll keep going,” Bohanon said. “I know that was just motivation for what we can do and we can be as a team.”
The Sooners (9-1, 6-1), No. 8 in the CFP rankings, were held to 260 total yards, their fewest ever with Lincoln Riley in his five seasons as head coach and two seasons as offensive coordinator before that. It was their fewest points in a regular-season game since a 48-14 home loss to Baylor in 2014.
“It’s controlled confidence. You know, we put in the work and we expected results,” said linebacker Terrel Bernard, who had nine tackles and two sacks for Baylor. “We didn’t play up to our standard last week. And we corrected some things on tape. We put in a great game plan and came out here and executed.”
Oklahoma lost in November under Riley for the first time.
Baylor fans stormed the field when they believed the game was over, but there had been a timeout and three seconds remained. Pretty much all of Oklahoma’s team had left the field, and it took several minutes to clear the field.
After an extended discussion among the referees, and an irate Riley, the Sooners’ defense returned to the field for the final snap. That was a 32-yard field goal by Isaiah Hankins for scoring that could come into play in a Big 12 tiebreaker, and the fans then swarmed the field again.
Baylor coach Dave Aranda said he was thinking about Big 12 tiebreakers that include point differential.
“I know why Dave tried to kick field goal. I don’t agree with it,” Riley said. “I still think above all else, there’s a code of sportsmanship that I believe in. I wouldn’t have done it.”
Oklahoma freshman quarterback Caleb Williams, who had been so dynamic since leading a big comeback against Texas last month, threw two interceptions. Preseason Associated Press All-American quarterback Spencer Rattler, whom he had replaced as the starter, took over late in the third quarter.
Williams had a two-yard touchdown run early but finished 10-for-19 passing for 146 yards while getting sacked three times. Rattler was sacked twice as well, and Williams returned to complete three passes for 74 yards on a late drive before Kennedy Brooks’ one-yard touchdown with 2:26 left.
“Disappointing. No other way to put it,” Riley said. “Still a whole lot left for this football team. ... We’ll bounce back like we always do and like we fully expect to.”