Week 6: Oklahoma at Baylor

Just installed as the nation’s No. 1 team, Oklahoma hopes to hold the lofty spot longer than many of the teams before them in the upset-dominated landscape of college football the past 13 months.

It would take a major upset to knock the Sooners off the perch this soon.

OU has never lost to the Bears – not in 12 matchups in the Big 12 or 17 meetings overall.

The Sooners are 7-0 in Waco.

Still, major upsets happen – these days at an alarming rate.

“Yeah, we see it, but we can’t put that into the way we play,” said OU cornerback Brian Jackson. “Any team can have your number. You’ve got to come out every game working just as hard as you did the game before, letting nothing go. You’ve got to stay aggressive.”

This game has the look of a trap game. A date with Red River rival Texas waits next week in the Cotton Bowl. And the Sooners are coming off a rout of TCU in a game billed as a major test, but revealed as a mismatch instead.

The Sooners stumbled in a similar situation a year ago, losing at Colorado with Texas on deck.

“We really haven’t talked much about Colorado,” Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford said Tuesday at OU’s weekly media luncheon. “And we’re probably not going to talk about that. This is a new team. It’s a different year.

“We’re going to go out there and prepare the way we have the first four weeks. We’ll take what we learned at Washington, how we prepared for that road game and try to play like that.”

These Bears have shown more bite under first-year coach Art Briles and behind freshman quarterback Robert Griffin, a dangerous dual-threat speedster.

Are they good enough to stun No. 1? They’ve had two weeks to ready for the occasion.

“If you can’t be No. 1, you might as well play No. 1,” Griffin said.

Notes:

Baylor has rushed for 100-plus yards in three straight games for the first time since a five-game run to open the 2005 season.

This is the Bears’ 12th clash against the nation’s No. 1 team all time. They’re 0-10-1 previously.

Moving into the No. 1 spot, the Sooners have now been ranked atop the Associated Press poll 96 weeks – breaking a tie with  Notre Dame for most weeks at No. 1.

Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford has thrown multiple touchdowns in 15 of his 16 starts.

Player to Watch (Sooners) – Manny Johnson, WR

From the slot, Johnson is enjoying his best season as a Sooner. He’s hot, too, with his 206-yard output against TCU the best ever by an OU wide receiver. Johnson and Bradford are forming quite a combination, with Johnson offering a quick strike option for when opponents load defenders in the box or blitz.

Player to Watch (Bears) – Robert Griffin, QB

The Bears likely need help from the Sooners in the form of turnovers and definitely need a big game from their exciting quarterback to push Oklahoma. The only true freshman starting quarterback in the nation, Griffin leads Baylor in rushing and passing. His mobility and strong arm will be a necessary combination against OU’s dominant defense.

Oklahoma by 25