Oklahoma Football: Sooners Defense Collapses Again in Loss to Baylor

The University of Oklahoma took the field in Waco knowing a victory over a Baylor team they had never lost to in 20 previous contests would keep their National Championship hopes alive.

With second-ranked Oklahoma State losing on Friday night and No. 4 Oregon falling to USC in Eugene, the Sooners were almost certain to end up in the same No. 3 spot they held before Texas Tech had pulled off a shocker in Norman one month ago.

It was no secret that Stoops' Troops considered this season to be a National Championship or bust since last January's Fiesta Bowl victory.

Knowing all these facts, how does one explain this dismal performance, coming off a bye week no less, with every goal within their grasp?

You can point to the nine penalties for 90 costly yards, the two turnovers and the dropped passes.

You can say Baylor has good players, including the dynamic Robert Griffin III who played lights out, and hadn't lost at home.

You can point out that the Sooners were missing their top playmaker in Ryan Broyles and their top running back in Dominique Whaley.

However, while these were all contributing factors, the main culprit in this devastating defeat was Brent Venables' defense.

Oklahoma once again scored 38 points in a game against an inferior opponent and lost.

The killer mentality this defense had displayed in victories over Florida State, Texas and Kansas State was missing in action for most of the night.

Baylor racked up over 600 yards of offense and RG III scorched the secondary for 479 yards on only 21 completions.

The Bears averaged 23 yards per completion and over eight per play.

Baylor scored six touchdowns on the night. The average touchdown drive covered approximately 80 yards in four plays and took 64 seconds.

This defense was billed as being on par with the best of any Stoops' era team. It has playmaking athletes stacked two-deep at every position.

While it may rival these past defenses in pure physical ability, it sorely lacks the most important part a team needs to meet championship expectations.

This Sooners defense has no heart.