Oklahoma State Football: Can Pokes avoid letdown vs Baylor?

Oklahoma State football is coming off a huge win over Texas, looking to build momentum in the final month of the season. The Cowboys open up November play at Baylor.

Stillwater was the site of one of the biggest upsets in Week 9, as Oklahoma State downed then-No. 6 Texas in a 38-35 thriller. Taylor Cornelius, after a pair of disappointing performances against Iowa State and Kansas State, threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns and punched in two more scores on the ground to fuel the upset over the Longhorns.

After sweeping through an underwhelming non-conference schedule, Oklahoma State has been a hot-or-cold team so far this season. So far the Cowboys have played away from home only twice, winning 48-28 at Kansas and falling 31-12 at Kansas State. Their third road test takes the Pokes to what has been a house of horrors in recent years.

Baylor is back to playing .500 football after a down year in 2017, and they sport the same 2-3 conference record as their visitors. The Bears kill more clock when they have the football than all but a dozen other FBS schools, giving them an advantage in time of possession over every other Big 12 school.

Charlie Brewer, however, is in concussion protocol and is uncertain to play in the contest against Oklahoma State. Losing their starting quarterback would make life much tougher for a Bears team that will already be an underdog at home. But history is on Baylor’s side in this series, especially recently when the two teams meet up in Waco.

Can the Bears pull off an upset on Saturday? Here’s how you can watch the Big 12 game between Oklahoma State and Baylor:

Date: Saturday, Nov. 3
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Waco, Texas
Venue: McLane Stadium
TV: FS1
Live Stream: FOX Sports Go | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Being able to play Brewer would obviously increase Baylor’s odds of pulling off an upset against the Pokes. No matter who starts at quarterback, the Bears offensive line needs to be much better at the line of scrimmage in preventing both sacks and tackles for loss. Baylor ranks in the bottom 15 nationally in both categories. Finally managing to generate some turnovers would also go a long way toward a successful upset bid.

For Oklahoma State, all the pressure is on them even though they are on the road. The nation’s best team in sacks and seventh in tackles for loss, thwarting Baylor’s dreams of an upset count on wreaking havoc in the trenches. Cornelius needs to have another big game to more fully silence his critics, and a 100-yard game from Justice Hill is going to be critical from an offensive balance standpoint.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: Oklahoma State -8
Over/Under: 67.5

Prediction

Baylor has won three straight in Waco against the Cowboys by an average score of 42-29. The Bears have home-field advantage on their side once again, but Oklahoma State has the far superior stats that would indicate a relatively comfortable victory. Baylor is finally getting back on track after cratering again early in Matt Rhule’s tenure, but this won’t end up as another massive upset. If Brewer is out, halve the number of points Baylor manages to score at home in defeat.

Final Score: Oklahoma State 41, Baylor 24