5 takeaways from Baylor’s loss to Oklahoma State: Bears can’t overcome slow start

In the first meeting since the 2021 Big 12 championship game, No. 16 Baylor was defeated by No. 9 Oklahoma State 36-25 Saturday afternoon at McLane Stadium in Waco.

The Bears (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) were shut down by the Cowboys (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) in the first half and were unable to gain an advantage.

Here are five takeaways from Baylor’s brutal home loss:

Humbling moment

Baylor got the best of Oklahoma State a year ago, but this one sure was different.

The Bears had their lunch money stolen in the first half, as the Cowboys man-handled them to the tune of a 16-3 lead. Nothing was going for Baylor offensively and it was completely shut down time after time. Redshirt senior quarterback Spencer Sanders had his way on the ground and it looked like the Bears stood no shot.

This especially became evident once the Pokes scored a 98-yard kickoff return to start the second half. People were writing Baylor’s obituary, and kudos to the green and gold for at least making it a game. But, this was a punch in the mouth that the Bears need if it thinks it can come out the way it did and succeed against good teams.

Routine slow starts

Similar to its 42-7 home win over Texas State, Baylor came out slow in the first half. Lots of credit can be given to the Oklahoma State defense for forcing stops and making plays, but the Bears had no problem marching down the field for a 34-yard field goal on their opening drive.

It was each drive after that, Baylor just couldn’t get any momentum going and even fell victim to a safety. The Bears’ defense came up with some stops to try to flip momentum, but the Pokes came right back with stops of their own.

Even last week, on the road against Iowa State, Baylor didn’t start slow like it has when playing at McLane Stadium. Something has to change in the way the group approaches these home games, because with the tough road schedule, it needs to capitalize at home.

Gutsy second-half play-calling

Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes showed a week ago that he was not afraid to take some risks in conference play. This was evident last season, as well.

To start the game, the play-calling was super conservative, with a lack of risks being taken. This shifted in the second half, as the Bears went for it on fourth-down on numerous occasions. Many failed, but there was one success that will stand out among the others.

It was when sophomore quarterback Blake Shapen connected with sophomore wide receiver Monaray Baldwin for a 70-yard strike on fourth-and-five late in the third quarter. A two-point conversion then cut the deficit to eight points.

In the fourth quarter, on its own 14-yard line, Baylor went for it again on fourth-and-one. The Bears converted again, but certainly not without an increased heart rate from everyone in the stadium. It’s clear the team trusts its defense in tough spots and has full confidence in the offense’s ability to convert on fourth and manageable yardage.

Love/hate relationship with outside pitch

Early in the second quarter, Baylor was backed up on its own two-yard line following a well-placed Oklahoma State punt. The Bears resorted to an outside pitch that was easily sniffed out by the Pokes, leading to a safety.

One drive later, Baylor marched into the red zone, but was faced with a fourth-and-one opportunity on Oklahoma State’s own seven-yard line. The Bears went for it, this time another outside pitch that was — again — easily shut down by the Cowboys.

In the wide-zone scheme that Grimes has implemented, outside pitches are a rarity, due to the effectiveness of its routine inside or outside zone runs behind Baylor’s beefy O-line. However, in a fitting fashion, freshman running back Richard Reese took an outside pitch and punched it in to cut Oklahoma State’s lead to six points.

It appears there are some kinks to work out regarding the pitch, but it doesn’t appear to be impactful at this point in the season. It’s probably best to stay away from that one.

Can’t contain Sanders, scrambling QBs

Two-way quarterbacks always seem to give the Bears fits. On Saturday, Sanders rushed for more yards than the entire Baylor team did in the first half. The squad did a much better job in the second half, but it’s a glaring issue that the group will need to address ahead of future contests against mobile QBs.

Twitter: @MichaelHaag_

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