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Griffin's late heroics send Baylor past No. 5 Oklahoma

Nov 20, 2011 - 8:15 AM Waco, TX (Sports Network) - Robert Griffin III's fourth touchdown pass was hauled in by Terrance Williams with eight seconds remaining, as No. 25 Baylor pulled off its first win against fifth-ranked Oklahoma, 45-38, in dramatic fashion.

Griffin could not be contained by the Sooners all night, as he ended with a school record 479 yards on 21-of-34 passes and added 72 yards on the ground.

He took over in the final minute after Blake Bell's fourth rushing touchdown tied the game, 38-38. First, Griffin scrambled for 22 yards to gain the Baylor 46-yard line. After another eight-yard scamper and a 12-yard pass to Kendall Wright, the dynamic signal-caller bought time with his legs and hit Williams streaking across the back of the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown.

"It's another day at the office for Robert," Baylor head coach Art Briles said of his quarterback. "He's been doing that for three or four years. When the ball's in his hands good things happen because he's very intelligent, very gifted."

Baylor (7-3, 4-3 Big 12), which had not won in 20 previous meetings against Oklahoma (8-2, 5-2), recovered a botched squib kick to seal the historic win.

The Sooners had an outside shot at earning a spot in the BCS title game, as they entered play sitting fifth in the standings with two teams ahead of them losing this weekend.

But the Bears made it three upsets in the top-5 in part by scoring three straight touchdowns in the second half. Terrance Ganaway's 11-yard run to paydirt yielded a 38-24 cushion with 12:49 remaining.

Oklahoma turned the ball over on downs at the Baylor 25-yard line on its next touch, but Landry Jones guided the Sooners into the red zone before giving way to his backup, Bell, who ran it in from four yards out with six minutes to play.

After a quick punt, Jones went 6-of-7 for 53 yards to reach a 1st-and-goal situation from the six. From there, the hulking Bell barreled into the end zone with 51 seconds to play. Bell looked as if he was going to stay on the field for a two-point try, but Sooners head coach Bob Stoops opted to kick the extra point.

Griffin made the decision moot by leading another quick and decisive scoring march, Baylor's fourth of under a minute.

Jones ended with 447 yards with an interception on 36-of-51 passes. Roy Finch led the Sooners with 95 yards on the ground.

"It kind of went back and forth all night," Jones said. "Baylor's a good team, and they outplayed us tonight."

Oklahoma's Michael Hunnicutt and the Bears' Aaron Jones traded field goals in the first quarter.

Wright, who logged 208 yards on eight receptions, had a 55-yard catch and run on a quick slant to set up the first TD -- Ganaway's 15-yard run -- midway through the second quarter.

Bell extended the ensuing drive with a first-down run on 4th-and-1 from the Baylor 11, then bulled his way over the goal line from three yards out with 2:38 left in the first half.

On the next play from scrimmage, Tevin Reese got behind the secondary and brought in Griffin's lob for a 69-yard TD.

Oklahoma gained momentum early in the third with two touchdowns in the first 3:49. Trey Millard ran in from five yards out after James Hanna' 54-yard catch, and Bell powered in from the one after Baylor failed on 4th-and-1 from its own 33-yard line.

Baylor tied it when Wright came down with a tipped pass and went untouched for an 87-yard score with 6:39 left in the third.

Jordan Najvar put the Bears on top, 31-24, with a 13-yard TD reception to cap a 10-play, 85-yard drive late in the third.

Game Notes

Baylor had not defeated a top-5 team since upsetting No. 3 USC in 1985, a streak of 20 straight losses...The Bears are 6-0 at home...Griffin eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark for total offense for the second consecutive season...Bell joined J.C. Watts as the only Oklahoma quarterbacks to rush for four TDs in a game...Jaz Reynolds led the Sooners with 114 yards on seven catches.