Playoff hopes still remain

Former Oklahoma coaching legend Barry Switzer coined the term “Sooner Magic.”

Sooner Magic seemed at play Saturday night as No. 8 Oklahoma rallied from a 10-31 half-time deficit to beat No. 13 Baylor, 34-31.

OU dominated the second half, outscoring Baylor 24-0. The Sooner overcame three turnovers and the loss of All American wide receiver DeeCee Lamb, who was held out for medical reasons.

It was the biggest comeback in school history. The largest comeback win prior to the Baylor game was 21 points vs. Iowa State in 1970 and vs. Kansas State in 1981.

“You never know 100 percent that you’re going to be able to come back from something like that,” OU coach Lincoln Riley said, “but I think they all felt like we had a chance.”

Since 1996, teams behind by 25 points on the road against a Top 25 ranked opponent are just 2-1,446. According to ESPN Stats & Info, OU’s 21-point halftime deficit (31-10) is the largest overcome to defeat an FBS team that entered the game 9-0 or better since NCAA classification began in 1937.

OU outgained Baylor 368 yards to 69 in the second half (22 first downs to 4). They had 58 plays to Baylor’s 16 and held a 24:20 to 5:40 advantage in time of possession. It was a different story in the first half, when OU ran 37 plays for 157 yards while Baylor ran 36 plays for 238 yards. Oklahoma ran a season-high 95 plays in the game, gaining 525 yards (5.5 yards per play). Before Saturday, OU had not run more than 69 plays in a game this season (69 versus South Dakota).

Before Saturday, Baylor coach Matt Rhule had guided his teams (Baylor and Temple) to 38 straight wins when leading or tied entering the fourth quarter. Baylor was ahead 31-17 at the end of the third quarter Saturday.

OU hosts TCU Saturday at 7 p.m. on Fox. The Sooners close out the regular season on November 30 against No. 22 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. If OU wins one of those games, the Sooners will go to the Big 12 Championship game in Dallas (probably against Baylor).

How can OU achieve the No. 4 ranking and make the College Football Playoff?

First, OU needs to beat TCU this week and No. 22 Oklahoma State next week. They need No. 13 Baylor to beat Texas and Kansas to set up a rematch in the Big 12 Championship. Then, if OU wins the title, the Sooners have a league championship to help make their case against other one-loss teams like No. 5 Alabama.

Texas A&M plays No. 1 LSU and No. 4 Georgia and an upset win by the Aggies would be huge for OU’s chances. LSU and Georgia will likely meet in the SEC Championship and a loss by Georgia would knock them out of the playoff.

Alabama will beat Western Carolina this Saturday and likely beat Auburn. But not playing in the SEC title game hurts the chances of that conference having two teams in the playoff.

No. 2 Ohio State could be upset by No. 9 Penn State or No 12 Michigan. If Ohio State wins both of those, they will likely play No. 11 Minnesota.

No. 6 Oregon and No. 7 Utah will be heavy favorites in their final two games against Arizona State and Oregon State, and Arizona and Colorado, respectively. It will probably be Oregon versus Utah in the Pac-12 Championship. The loser won’t make the playoff and the winner would be the biggest threat to OU’s possible selection by the committee.

OU quarterback Jalen Hurts had 411 yards of offense against Baylor (305 yards in the second half) and was named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the week. Hurts hit 30 of 42 pass attempts for 297 yards and four touchdowns. He ran 27 times for 114 yards.

Hurts completed passes to 10 receivers, including touchdown throws to freshman tight end Austin Stogner (first two of his career), freshman receiver Theo Wease (second of his career) and sophomore H-back Brayden Willis (first of his career).

Hurts leads the nation this season in passing efficiency rating (209.1), yards per pass attempt (12.3) and points responsible for per game (26.0), while ranking second in yards per completion (16.8) and total offense (402.2 ypg) and third in completion percentage (73.0). He is averaging 303.9 passing yards and 98.3 rushing yards per contest. He has also accounted for 43 touchdowns.

Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) hosts TCU (5-5, 3-4) on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT.

TCU  (5-5, 3-4 in the Big 12) is chasing bowl eligibility and must win one of their two final games to go to a bowl. TCU beat Texas Tech 33-31 Saturday. Their losses this season have been to SMU, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Baylor. TCU took Baylor to triple overtime before falling 29-23.

TCU’s starting quarterback is true freshman Max Duggan. He hit 25 of 42 pass attempts against Texas Tech for 323 yards and two TDs. He rushed for 75 yards on 18 carries.