All that talk about the Oklahoma Sooners’ woes on the road finally should finally come to an end last night with OU’s 53-24 win over Baylor in Waco, right?

Hardly, but it’s a good start.

(Continue...)

OU played a sharp game on both sides of the for the first time in a true away game this season. The Baylor O was held to 5.1 yards per play, nearly 2 yards below its season average. The Bears’ 24 points marked their second-lowest output of the season, falling nearly 10 below their 2010 average. Two of Baylor’s touchdowns came in the fourth quarter once the game was well in hand for OU.

The Sooner offense bested its own season average of 5.5 yards per play, generating 5.8 Saturday night. Although OU continued to have problems running the ball, netting just 2.9 yards per carry, quarterback Landry Jones shook finally started actually took a few shots downfield, including a 49-yard touchdown bomb to freshman phenom Kenny Stills in the third quarter. (Granted, the catch was better than the throw.)

More important for Jones, unlike previous road implosions, he shook off a hideous interception in the fourth quarter to put together an otherwise strong game. He had his share of misfires, but he moved the Sooner O efficiently and stood tall in the pocket when things started getting chippy.

All sounds pretty good, but Baylor is still Baylor. Even if this is the best bunch of Bears in recent memory, they had been sputtering in the last two weeks. And Floyd Casey Stadium isn’t exactly the Thunderdome, either.

The enthusiasm is understandable, because dominant wins outside of Norman have been rare the last two years. It’s definitely encouraging with a trip to Stillwater coming up for arguably the biggest Bedlam game ever. Hell, I wouldn’t be shocked if the oddsmakers install OU as a small favorite.

Even so, these Sooners have plenty left to prove.