Sooners Breathe Easy, 56-7

Oklahoma and Josh Heupel needed a breather like this one.

After an emotional October that saw the top-ranked Sooners defeat rivals Texas, Kansas State and Nebraska, Heupel and his teammates started November with a 56-7 victory Saturday over Baylor at Waco, Texas.

But the Sooners (8-0, 5-0 in the Big 12 Conference) aren’t out of the woods. Next week, they travel to play No. 24 Texas A&M; in another showdown.

The Sooners are 0-4 in College Station, where the Aggies knocked off then-No. 10 Kansas State, 26-10, last week. And the Aggies will be looking for revenge after a 51-6 loss in Norman a year ago.

“College Station is a wild place from what I’ve heard. But we’ve been in big-time atmospheres before and we’ll be extremely confident and prepared,” said Heupel, who threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns against the nation’s 104th-rated defense.

The break was fun while it lasted.

J.T. Thatcher returned Baylor’s first punt for a touchdown and Curtis Fagan had two of his three scoring catches as the Sooners rolled to a 42-0 halftime lead. Heupel also ran for a touchdown.

Sooner fans, who made up about half of the announced crowd of 31,106, threw oranges on the field after some of Oklahoma’s touchdowns, a sign of expectations that their team will play in the Orange Bowl for the national championship.

Considered one of the favorites for the Heisman Trophy, Heupel could have had even bigger numbers but didn’t play in the second half. He was 21-of-29 passing without an interception.

“When a guy’s as accurate as that, you know he’s something special,” Baylor Coach Kevin Steele said.

Baylor hit Heupel several times on blitzes and so with a comfortable lead, Sooner Coach Bob Stoops put in little-used backup Nate Hybl to start the third quarter.

“We wanted to get Heupel some rest,” Stoops said. “He’s had a tough three weeks.”

No. 19 Kansas State 56, Iowa State 10--Josh Scobey rushed for 149 yards and four touchdowns at Manhattan, Kan., as the Wildcats (8-2, 4-2) defeated the rebuilding Cyclones to set up a showdown next week with No. 5 Nebraska for the Big 12 North title.

Kansas State, which had lost two of its last three and tumbled 17 spots in the rankings, scored on five of its first seven possessions against the Cyclones (6-3, 3-3), who already have clinched their first winning season since 1989.

Scobey, a junior college transfer, scored on runs of two, one and four yards in the first quarter. Midway through the third period, he picked up 29 yards up the middle and then went 11 yards for another touchdown, putting Kansas State up 49-3.

No. 20 Texas 29, Texas Tech 17--Hodges Mitchell ran for 229 yards and two touchdowns and Kris Stockton tied a school record with five field goals at Lubbock, Texas.

Texas (7-2, 5-1) has won four consecutive games since the embarrassing 63-14 loss to top-ranked Oklahoma.

Longhorn quarterback Major Applewhite left in the third quarter with what he indicated was some sort of ligament damage in his right knee.

“I’m not sure yet, it’s either a partial or all the way torn ACL,” Applewhite said.

Coach Mack Brown said Applewhite would be evaluated when the team returned to Austin.

No. 24 Texas A&M; 21, Oklahoma State 16--Mark Farris threw for 246 yards and a touchdown, and the Aggies (7-2, 5-1) stopped Oklahoma State at the 15 in the final minute to win at Stillwater, Okla.

The Aggies won their fourth consecutive game to stay in the thick of the Big 12 South race. They host No. 1-ranked Oklahoma next week.

Oklahoma State (2-6, 0-5) has lost six in a row, heightening speculation about the future of Coach Bob Simmons. The Cowboys are assured of their third consecutive losing season under Simmons, who has finished above .500 once in six years.

Colorado 28, Missouri 18--Freshman Craig Ochs threw for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as the Buffaloes (3-6, 3-3) scored after three Missouri turnovers to beat the Tigers (2-6, 1-5) at Columbia, Mo.

Colorado has won 14 of its last 16 games against Missouri. Buffalo Coach Gary Barnett, a wide receiver at Missouri under coach Dan Devine in the late 1960s, is 2-0 against his alma mater.