NORMAN, Okla. — Bob Stoops passed Bud Wilkinson on Oklahoma’s career victory list with a defensive game plan that went against his conventional wisdom.
The defensive-minded head coach who has always focused on stopping the run first got victory No. 146 with an emphasis on grounding the nation’s top passing attack.
“I love it,” Stoops said after his 12th-ranked Sooners beat Baylor 42-34 on Saturday. “I absolutely love it.”
Landry Jones threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns, Damien Williams ran for 99 yards and two scores and Oklahoma limited Baylor to a season-low 172 yards passing in the victory. Stoops moved into sole possession of second place on the school’s victories list by passing Wilkinson, who was 145-29-4 and won three national championships with the Sooners.
“What he did here is absolutely amazing. The [NCAA record 47-game] win streak is really just incredible. I don’t believe it’ll ever be touched again, and the national championships, the sustained success for so long,” Stoops said.
“I don’t look at numbers, to be honest with you. It’s just not me. I’m a long way from sitting in a rocking chair and reflecting on it.”
At 146-36, Stoops trails only Barry Switzer’s 157-29-4 record that’s the best in Oklahoma history. Switzer also won three national titles. Stoops has won one and is just trying to keep the Sooners in contention for a BCS at-large bid or long shot Big 12 title this season.
Lache Seastrunk ran for 91 yards and three touchdowns for Baylor (4-5, 1-5 Big 12), the last score getting the Bears within eight with 1:26 to play after quarterback Nick Florence got in on the 2-point conversion.
LaColtan Bester recovered the ensuing onside kick, sealing the victory for Oklahoma (7-2, 5-1).
In other Big 12 games, David Ash passed for 364 yards and two touchdowns and No. 17 Texas (8-2, 5-2) honored former the memory of Coach Darrell Royal with a 33-7 victory over visiting Iowa State (5-5, 2-5). Texas paid tribute during the game to Royal, who died Wednesday at 88. Texas lined up in the Wishbone, the formation Royal introduced to college football in 1968, on the Longhorn’s first play. Instead of a run, Texas ran a trick play that resulted in a 47-yard pass. ... Clint Chelf threw for 292 yards and four touchdowns in his first career start, and Josh Stewart had a career-high 172 receiving yards and scored three touchdowns as host Oklahoma State (6-3, 4-2) handed West Virginia (5-4, 2-4) its fourth consecutive loss, 55-34. ... Eric Stephens threw a 3-yard jump pass to Darrin Moore for a touchdown in double overtime to lead No. 22 Texas Tech (7-3, 4-3) to a 41-34 victory over visiting Kansas (1-9, 0-7).
CONFERENCE USA
Hurricane blowout
HOUSTON — Alex Singleton and Cody Green rushed for two touchdowns each as Tulsa’s offense cranked out 505 yards in a 41-7 victory against Houston on Saturday night.
Singleton had two 1-yard scoring runs and Green had touchdown runs of 3 and 1 yards for the Golden Hurricane (8-2, 6-0 Conference USA). Ja’Terian Douglas had 87 yards on 12 carries for Tulsa, which finished with 350 yards on the ground.
The Cougars (4-6, 3-3) trailed 41-0 before backup quarterback Crawford Jones hit Ryan Jackson with a 16-yard touchdown pass with 7:08 remaining.
In other Conference USA games, Darrin Reaves rushed for 184 yards and two scores and host Alabama-Birmingham (3-7, 2-4) withstood a late barrage by Marshall (4-6, 1-5) to win 38-31. ... Garrett Gilbert ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, leading host SMU (5-5, 4-2) to a 34-6 victory over Southern Mississippi (0-10, 0-6). ... Jacob Karam passed for 270 yards and two touchdowns, and host Memphis (2-8, 2-4) dominated the second half in a 37-23 victory over Tulane (2-8, 2-4). ... Blake Bortles ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, and Latavius Murray rushed for a touchdown to break a fourth-quarter tie as Central Florida (8-2, 6-0) won 31-24 over host Texas-El Paso (2-8, 1-5).
Sports, Pages 34 on 11/11/2012