NORMAN, Okla. — The rematch is here.
No. 6 Oklahoma (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) and No. 8 Baylor (11-1, 8-1) are set for a clash in the Big 12 Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The Sooners needed a historic comeback less than a month ago to down the Bears 34-31. Oklahoma was down 28-3 early in the second-quarter and then 31-10 at half. The 25-point deficit was the largest deficit an Oklahoma team has ever overcome and win a football game.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts turned it on in the second-half and the defense stiffened up to shutout Baylor in the second-half.
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley met with the media on Monday to preview the Big 12 Championship game. Here is what he said about the rematch with Baylor.
Media: What turned the defense around after halftime in the first game?
Lincoln Riley: “I don’t know that there’s some eureka moment. We’ve certainly caused turnovers since the second half that game and been pretty consistent with that. That’s certainly been big. I think we keep getting a little bit better each week. It’s a constant climb, every year, even if your system’s four or five years old, it’s always a constant climb, and especially in the first year of a system. Totally new coaches, scheme, everything. It takes time. And if you’re coaching it the right way and if your players are responding the right way, then it should get better. Our guys have bought in and we certainly look a lot different than we did even early in the season when we played well, too. So we’re getting better and we’ve adapted to ways that people have attacked us and young guys have continued to grow and evolve, and I give our staff a lot of credit.”
M: How much emphasis do you put on the first game?
LR: “This is a different game. Everything is different about this game. It’s not a road game for us, it’s not a home game for them. Championship games are different. They just feel different. Everything about them’s different. So our focus has just got to be on this one and how we can play our very best. We know we’re going to have to play well to beat Baylor. They’re a darned good football team. They played well, studying them up to our game, then obviously they’ve played extremely well after. So we realize the challenge it’s going to be and it’s going to be its own game for sure.”
M: Do you have to guard against overanalyzing the first game?
LR: “Everybody’s different. These games the last few years probably have helped us in that guys that have been in college, you don’t normally play the same opponent twice in the same year. Felt very different for TCU a couple of years ago. Very very different. Now it feels more regular. So I’m glad our team’s done well enough that it feels regular. I think it’s not a whole lot different than studying a team from the past. This or that. That’s kind of the back and forth you always go through as coaches. How much to analyze, how much to scheme, how much not to. That’s kind of the fun in it. But it is a little bit of a new dimension with the second game, and thankfully our staff has had a lot of good experience there.”
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