Oklahoma Football: What Trevor Knight Must Do to Lead Sooners Past Baylor

Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight is key to the Sooners’ chances of victory when Baylor comes into Norman on Saturday (noon ET on Fox Sports 1).

With two losses already on its resume, Oklahoma can’t afford another slip-up if it hopes to maintain its slim Big 12 title hopes and even slimmer College Football Playoff chances. Whether or not the team can emerge on the winning side of Saturday’s contest will rest on the shoulders of its sophomore quarterback.

Here’s what Knight has to do.

Play a Clean Game

Turnovers have been the bane of Knight’s existence this season.

Through eight games, the San Antonio native has thrown as many interceptions. Unfortunately, some of those have been pretty costly—two were returned for a touchdown in the Sooners' two losses this season.

Ranking just No. 87 in interceptions (six), the Bears don't possess a secondary that will force opposing quarterbacks into bad decisions. With that said, there’s no need to gift the unit with a wayward pass or bad decision.

But against a pass rush that leads the Big 12 in sacks with 27, it might not be so easy.

“This is a pressure defense. They try to get you in bad plays early, more than probably any defense we play all year,” Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator Jay Norvell told TulsaWorld.com’s Eric Bailey. “They’ll take more chances on first and second down and play zero blitz.”

As a result, don’t be surprised if you see Knight throwing a few more wide receiver screens and quick passes than usual.

Let Knight Run Loose

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

The Sooners' coaching staff took the training wheels off Knight last Saturday, and the results were spectacular.

In a 59-14 clobbering of Iowa State on the road, Knight ran for a career-high 146 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. It was a game that showcased his tremendous athletic ability and made Sooners fans wonder what could have been if he had been set free sooner.

Either way, there’s a good chance we’ll see another heaping helping of Knight’s mobility on Saturday. 

It won’t be easy, as Baylor has been stout against the run. In fact, the team ranks No. 9 at stopping the run (99.8 YPG) while limiting opponents to a meager 3.11 yards per carry.

Regardless of the Bears’ knack for stopping the run, Oklahoma must test the defense’s awareness of Knight’s running abilities early and often.

Move the Chains to Keep Petty and Co. on Sidelines

Eric Gay/Associated Press

There are few offenses as potent as Baylor’s.

Through eight games, the team tops the nation in total offense (590.3 YPG) and scoring (50.4 PPG). Quarterback Bryce Petty leads the way, throwing for 2,034 yards, 20 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Against an offense that is nearly impossible to stop, keeping the chains moving will become an important aspect of Saturday’s game.

Thus far, the Sooners only rank No. 61 in third-down conversions, completing just 41.1 percent of their attempts. Conversely, the Bears have been rather successful in stopping opponents on third down, ranking No. 20 in third-down defense (33.3 percent).

Fortunately, Knight and the offense have looked better in the category in recent weeks. In fact, Oklahoma has gone 13-of-23 (56.5 percent) on third down over the last two games.

If Knight can keep that up, it will go a long way in swaying the field position in the Sooners' favor and keeping Petty and the Baylor offense off the field.

All stats, recruiting information and rankings used in this article are courtesy of cfbstats.com and 247Sports.

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