On the night of Nov. 5, Oklahoma still had a game against Iowa State in between it and a meeting with undefeated Baylor.
The Sooners had said the right things all year about not overlooking opponents and remaining focused on the process of improving as they faced the teams at the bottom of the Big 12 standings.
But that Thursday night at a Norman eatery, as the offensive line shared their weekly meal, that philosophy cracked a bit.
The attention turned fully to undefeated Baylor, which was starting freshman quarterback Jarrett Stidham for the first time as the Bears played at Kansas State.
“Watched the entire thing,” Sooners center Ty Darlington said.
After dispensing of Iowa State, Darlington and other Sooners said it hadn’t been easy to be patient waiting for this three-game stretch in which Oklahoma plays Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State.
The stretch starts Saturday in Waco, Texas.
“It’s been very difficult not to look ahead,” Darlington said.
“These last three are all teams that beat us last year. They’re very good football teams. Particularly with Baylor. We owe them one for the last two years. They’ve embarrassed us two years in a row, absolutely whooped us. We haven’t forgotten about that. It’s something we’ve talked about all offseason.”
Baylor beat the Sooners 48-14 last season and 41-12 in 2013.
No one was as embarrassed in that 2013 game in Waco as Sooners defensive end Charles Tapper, who was ejected for throwing a punch.
“That was a bad situation but you learn from it and you become a better man from it,” Tapper said. “I became a better man from it and I became a better leader for it.”
Tapper and the Sooners know that there won’t be any room for those types of mistakes if they are to upset Baylor.
“You can’t have mistakes where you have turnovers or like a turnover — you rough the punter and give them a fresh set of downs at midfield,” Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. “That doesn’t work when you’re playing a prolific team like this. You’ve got to play together as a team and complement one another as a team would.
“They’ve done that better than we have.”
There’s been a different vibe around the Sooners as they prepare to face Baylor.
“This point of the season, you have to emphasize having energy, having focus, having intensity,” Darlington said. “It wasn’t always going to be natural. But now you won’t have to manufacture the passion, the intensity, the energy. It’s going to be there.
“It’s going to be intense.”
NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH
–WR Sterling Shepard has missed most of the last two games against Baylor, suffering a concussion early in the 2013 game and recovering from a groin injury when the Sooners hosted the Bears last season.
–QB Baker Mayfield was recently nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy as the nation’s top player who started his career as a walk-on.
–RB Joe Mixon has been a solid target in the passing game all season, catching 22 passes for 313 yards, but he’s improved on the ground recently. Mixon is averaging 6.7 yards per carry.
–WR Durron Neal had a career-high 10 receptions last week against Iowa State and has 38 catches this season. His career high is 42 catches.
–TE Mark Andrews has six touchdown passes, tying WR Ryan Broyles for the OU single-season freshman record.