Baylor’s Corey Coleman proves quite the catch

 

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – It took awhile, but eventually Baylor receiver Corey Coleman bought into what quarterback Bryce Petty was telling him.
The result for Coleman was one of the great performances by a Baylor receiver. The 5-foot-10 sophomore had career highs of 15 catches and 224 yards to help the 10th-ranked Bears defeat No. 16 Oklahoma 48-14. Both totals were second best in school history, and it was the most catches by an Oklahoma opponent.
Petty, who passed for 387 yards and had a career-high 32 completions, had to settle Coleman down and get him comfortable with short passes. Coleman caught throws of 11, 10, 9 and 18 yards in the early going before breaking loose for a 33-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.
”With him, he’s so passionate that he wants it now,” Petty said. ”You just have to sit him down and tell him this will set it up.”
Coleman listened, and his patience paid off. He caught two passes for 21 yards in the first quarter, six passes for 84 yards in the second and seven for 119 yards in the third.
”We started making big plays and trusting in what we were doing,” Coleman said. ”The short passing game got everything opened up.”
Coleman’s previous career high of 167 yards came the previous week against Kansas. The past two games, he has 18 catches for 391 yards and three touchdowns. With his touchdown reception Saturday, he extended his nation-best streak to six straight games with a touchdown catch. Those are big numbers for a speedster who sat out the first three games this season with a hamstring injury.
Oklahoma’s defensive backs often backed off to try to keep Coleman and Baylor’s wideouts in front of them.
”They see film and see us beat teams with speed,” Coleman said. ”Going in, they weren’t going to give up anything deep. We were just taking what they were giving us.”
Coleman’s big third quarter helped turn the game into a blowout. Petty completed 16 of 17 passes for 206 yards in the period to help the Bears outscore the Sooners take a 38-14 lead.
”The second half, they got behind us even when we were off,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. ”We have to do a better job covering the deep ball and, again, they beat us on a few. Sometimes it was very effective and sometimes it wasn’t.”
Part of Oklahoma’s problem was that Coleman’s teammates also came through. Antwan Goodley had a career-high nine catches for 92 yards and Jay Lee had five catches for 43 yards.
The running game was solid, too. The Bears ran 52 times for 178 yards and had the ball for 35:23. Shock Linwood ran for 87 yards and two touchdowns, Devin Chafin ran for two scores and Coleman scored his first career rushing touchdown.
”It’s really a pick your poison scenario,” Petty said.
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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP .