'Two equal teams': How have OSU and Baylor changed since first meeting in October?

STILLWATER — Back in September of 1908, Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College lost to Central State Normal School 8-5 in the first football game of the season. Then in November, Oklahoma A&M defeated Central State 17-0 in the final game of the same season.

So if you’re into statistical trends, Oklahoma State — formerly Oklahoma A&M — is unbeaten (1-0) in the last 113 years when playing the same team twice in a season.

On Saturday, the Cowboys finally get a chance to extend the winning streak.

Oklahoma State faces Baylor at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Big 12 championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, two months and two days after OSU’s 24-14 win over the Bears in Stillwater.

Of course, in the scope of a football season, something that happened two months ago feels like 1908. Two-thirds of a season has passed, so this meeting hardly feels like a rematch.

“We haven’t played ‘em in quite a while,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said of the Bears on Monday.

In terms of how the teams have evolved since they last met, the players are more experienced, but Gundy says the principles of what Baylor does are the same.

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“We’re kinda who we are, and they’re kinda who they are,” Gundy said. “They played another quarterback, but their philosophies are pretty much the same.

“From that standpoint, it’s really similar.”

Baylor has used freshman backup quarterback Blake Shapen the last game-and-a-half, because starter Gerry Bohanon injured his hamstring against Kansas State. In that time, Shapen is 36-of-55 passing for 391 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Bohanon was expected to go through a “walk-through, no-helmet” practice on Monday, but coach Dave Aranda was unsure of his status for Saturday’s game.

“He’s going to go through all that, so we’ll kind of see where he’s at,” Aranda said. “Gerry is the leader for us and is a stalwart, really. I think he’s the face of what we’re doing over here, so we’re excited to have him back and kind of see where it goes.”

Regardless of the quarterback, Gundy knows his team has to prepare for an opponent that — like the Cowboys — has shown improvement gradually throughout the season. Since they met in October, both teams are 6-1 with key wins that put them in the position to play for a Big 12 title. OSU lost 24-21 at Iowa State and Baylor lost 30-28 at TCU.

“Their schemes are good,” Gundy said. “They know what they’re doing. They block well. They’ve got skill at the running back position, we know that. They’ve got skill at the wide receiver position.

“And you’re also seeing a team that’s winning, so when they win, they play harder. That’s where they’re at. These are two equal teams. We’re on the same level.”

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The Cowboys’ changes over the last two months are obvious. Against Baylor, quarterback Spencer Sanders threw three interceptions. He’s only thrown four in the seven games since.

He’s playing with more confidence and control of the offense, which has upped its scoring output since then as well. Over the first five games, OSU averaged 25.4 points per game. Since then, it’s averaging 36.4.

A really good defense got even better over the latter part of the season, and as a team, the Cowboys are more confident.

Baylor, too, is playing with more confidence, but Aranda says his team’s biggest changes have been more philosophical.

“Every Sunday, after your game on Saturday, you’ve got yourself a brand new team,” Aranda said. “You learn and grow throughout, the ability to go through negative things and block out the noise, focus on what you can control, play through adversity. Those are things we’ve grown at.

“Then there’s the individual growth with players. Guys trusting their technique in tough moments. Guys trusting their teammates. When pressure hits, it causes abnormal behavior a lot of times. You go out of your job description and try to do other people’s job and I think our growth in that space — we were tested just a couple days ago — so I think we’ve grown in that area.

“And we’re gonna need all the lessons learned for this one coming up.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football: How have OSU, Baylor changed since first game?