Nov 6, 2013 3 min read

Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty knows people will remember November. And he can’t wait.

The 7-0 start for the fifth-ranked Bears before that and their highest ranking in 60 years won’t mean nearly as much without finishing strong in a challenging stretch. They play No. 12 Oklahoma (4-1, 7-1 Big 12) tonight, their first ranked opponent this season – and first of three in a row.

“Actually, looking at the schedule before the season, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Petty said. “It’s going to be a very fun stretch, and I say fun just because it’s challenging.”

These Bears (4-0, 7-0), who know they have to prove themselves, are no longer the pushovers in the Big 12. Oklahoma certainly knows that, though the Sooners have dominated the series winning 21 of 22 games.

“Obviously, when you look at that they’re doing, and the way they’re scoring, and the quality of defense they’re playing, it’s a challenge,” Sooners coach Bob Stoops said.

When Oklahoma last visited Waco two years ago, in a nationally televised Saturday night game, Robert Griffin III clinched the Heisman Trophy with a last-minute touchdown pass to give Baylor a 45-38 victory and end the Sooners’ national championship chances.

“For me, personally, it was the moment that the program changed,” said Petty, the Big 12’s leading passer with 350 yards per game, 18 TDs and only one interception. “I think that’s when we knew that we could play with anybody. It didn’t matter who it was. … It was one of our first games that there was a hype environment and we came through. It’s going to be a very exciting atmosphere kind of like 2011, so hopefully for the same result.”

Oregon, Stanford in Pac-12 showdown: The matchup between Oregon and Stanford the past three seasons has been billed as the biggest game of the year on the West Coast, a de facto Pac-12 title game and national semifinal.

What it also has been is a spoiler.

In each of the past three years, the loser was handed its only regular-season defeat and would’ve surely played in the BCS championship game otherwise. The winner went on to claim the Pac-12 title.

The stakes are just as high this season. The stage is even bigger. When No. 2 Oregon (5-0, 8-0) visits sixth-ranked Stanford (5-1, 7-1) in prime time tonight, one team will announce itself as the best in the west and the other will watch its championship dreams wither away again.

Saban ‘very committed’ to Alabama: Nick Saban says he remains “very committed to the University of Alabama” and disputed an account of his agent’s conversation with Texas.

The Crimson Tide coach was asked Wednesday about an Associated Press report regarding his agent’s conversation in January about possibly replacing Mack Brown at Texas.

Saban’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, indicated that the coach would consider leaving Tuscaloosa for the Texas job during a January phone call, according to an email sent by former Texas Regent Tom Hicks.

“Sexton confirmed that UT is the only job Nick would possibly consider leaving Alabama for, and that his success there created special pressure for him,” Hicks wrote of a call involving Sexton, himself and current Regent Wallace Hall.

Asked about the account, Saban said: “No one’s said anything like that.”