Baylor vs. Oklahoma: Score and Twitter Reaction

No. 11 Oklahoma (8-2, 7-0) pulled away from Baylor (6-3, 3-3) in the second half Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium en route to a 45-24 victory to maintain its place atop the Big 12 standings and keep its slim College Football Playoff hopes alive.

Heisman Trophy contender Baker Mayfield led the charge once again for the Sooners. The junior quarterback completed 20 of 25 passes for 300 yards and three total touchdowns. Dede Westbrook also shined with four catches for 88 yards and two scores. 

Bears quarterback Seth Russell accounted for 218 combined yards of offense before suffering a gruesome leg injury in the third quarter. It's the second serious setback in as many years for the senior, who fought back from a broken bone in his neck to play this season.

Here's a look at the quarter-by-quarter scoring recap for the Big 12 clash:

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Bears	0	10	7	7	24
Sooners	14	7	14	10	45

The contest looked like a potential trap game for Oklahoma. Not only was it a home date against a frustrated Bears squad that got blown out by TCU last week, but the Sooners are still fighting through some injury concerns ahead of crucial games against West Virginia and Oklahoma State.

Cody Stavenhagen of Tulsa World noted during the week that head coach Bob Stoops remained confident his healthy players could handle the quick-hitting Baylor rushing attack.

"We've had enough guys in there that they've handled it well," Stoops said. "That, in any game this year, hasn't been an issue. It's the same running style, very similar to what Texas brought to us. They're the same offense, obviously. We've got to manage it the way we've been managing it."

Those comments appeared prophetic, as the Sooners looked dominant, racing out to a 21-0 lead inside the game's first 18 minutes.

Mayfield started the scoring by capping off the game's first drive—a 10-play, 75-yard journey—with a 15-yard touchdown run. He made a perfect read to abort a potential screen pass and then showed off his wheels to get to the outside for the score.

Heartland Sports loved offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley's call, which forced the Bears to commit and opened the running lane for the star quarterback:

Mayfield was also involved in the Sooners' second touchdown, though the remarkable balance of the perpetually overlooked Westbrook can be credited for the score.

The senior wide receiver nearly fell out of bounds after making a catch with his momentum heading toward the sideline. Somehow he managed to regain his balance as Baylor defensive back Chance Waz ran right by him, and then Westbrook powered across the goal line.

CBS Sports CFB spotlighted the highlight-reel play:

Samaje Perine ran in from four yards out to make it 21-0 early in the second. It helped mark a successful return to the lineup for the junior rusher after he had missed three games with a leg injury.

Baylor mounted a rally late in the first half to at least keep the game within reach.

Chris Callahan got the Bears on the scoreboard with a 35-yard field goal. Then, after the defense forced a quick punt, Russell and Blake Lynch combined to gash the Sooners defense threw the air and on the ground as part of an eight-play scoring drive that took less than three minutes.

Russell found KD Cannon for a 24-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 11 at the break. J.D. Runnels Jr. of WWLS was more impressed with some of the plays leading up to the score, though:

Baylor failed to carry those positive vibes into the third quarter. Two touchdowns in a 50-second span midway through the period stretched the lead to 25 for Oklahoma.

Westbrook continued his touchdown surge by going up and snatching a jump ball away from Baylor safety Henry Black for a 40-yard score. It wasn't clear whether he made a clean catch, but there wasn't enough on replay for the officials to overturn the TD call.

ESPN Stats and Info passed along more details about the wideout's success:

Alas, the celebratory feeling inside Owen Field turned to silence after Russell went down. Though the injury wasn't immediately noticeable during the run of play, replays showed an apparent serious injury to his lower leg that required him to get carted off.

David Ubben of Fox Sports Southwest commented on the quarterback's poor fortune:

Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News noted even the Sooners players showed support:

Zach Smith led the Bears on a pair of scoring drives after taking over the reins of the offense. The Bears defense couldn't get the necessary stops in order to get the team back in the game, however, as the Sooners put up 566 yards of total offense in the win.

Joe Mixon exemplified the strong offensive showing with a 56-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach early in the fourth. KFOR's Brian Brinkley commented on the big play:

Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports isn't convinced the two-loss Sooners should be in the playoff conversation despite their seven-game winning streak, though:

Looking ahead, Oklahoma is set to visit Mountaineer Field to face West Virginia next weekend. The Sooners then have a bye week before returning to close out the regular season with a rivalry clash against Oklahoma State on Dec. 3.

While that's a tricky finish to the campaign, the week off in between helps, and Oklahoma needs every chance to score statement wins as it can get right now. All it can do at this stage is win out and hope the other dominoes fall in its favor.

Meanwhile, the injury to Russell overshadows everything else for Baylor. Coming back from the neck problem to play so well only to suffer another setback is awful luck. The rest of the Bears will attempt to regroup in time to face Kansas State next Saturday.

Postgame Reaction

ESPN passed along comments from Stoops about the victory, which moved his home record to 100-9 during his 18-year tenure at Oklahoma:

Kurtis Quillin of KCEN noted the latest update on Russell's status from interim coach Jim Grobe:

KCEN's Jessica Morrey provided reaction from Baylor cornerback Ryan Reid, who summed up the team's recent struggles well.

"Every time we get something going we shoot ourselves in the foot," he said.