ANALYSIS

No worries for now: The final score may not have indicated it, but playing TCU was a physical grind for Oklahoma Saturday night.

Right tackle Trent Williams hobbled off the field with his ankle taped. Branndon Braxton, OU's most valuable reserve on the offensive line, injured his lower leg in the third quarter. Tight end Jermaine Gresham collided with teammate Matt Clapp covering a punt and sustained a shoulder stinger. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy missed a couple of first-half series with a sore back.

As of Sunday afternoon, though, the Sooners' bill of health seemed clean.

"I don't have any reports of anything serious," coach Bob Stoops informed.

What went wrong: OU will want Williams and Braxton in peak condition this weekend at Baylor, not just because the Bears are better, but to improve on the 25 rushing yards the Sooners totaled Saturday against TCU's line-of-scrimmage-swarming defense.

"The worst thing was not just the front guys, but the tight ends and fullbacks weren't particularly good, and the running backs missed a few things," OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said.

Wilson went on to admit the Sooners played it conservatively (16 rushes in the second half for minus-11 yards) to protect their big lead, and to keep hits on QB Sam Bradford minimal.

Wilson said, "At the same time, we wanted the clock to move."

The good stuff: TCU typically feasts off opponents' turnovers, like the four the Horned Frogs forced in their 17-10 upset of OU in 2005.

Saturday night, however, the Sooners didn't put the ball on the ground once, and went their second straight game without a turnover.

OU is one of only three NCAA Bowl Subdivision teams not to have lost a fumble this season, along with Virginia Tech and Colorado State. Through four games a year ago, OU already had lost five fumbles.

Hold on a second: Wide receiver Manuel Johnson enjoyed a record night Saturday, his 206 receiving yards breaking Mark Clayton's single-game mark from 2003. His only downfall was the holding penalty he drew that cut Jermaine Gresham's 66-yard TD catch down to a 38-yard gain.

Know the foe

Looking back: Baylor has not played since dropping to 2-2 in a 31-28 heartbreaker at Connecticut on Sept. 19. The Bears took a 28-24 lead early in the fourth quarter on Robert Griffin's third touchdown pass, but in the end couldn't hold down UConn running back Donald Brown, whose 150 yards made the difference.

About the offense: True freshman Griffin has started only three games, but has already drawn favorable comparisons to Vince Young. First-year coach Art Briles has been running the spread offense since coaching Texas high school ball in the '90s, but he has never had a dynamic dual threat like Griffin (23 runs and 25 throws at UConn) to trigger it.

About the defense: Briles hired Brian Norwood from Penn State to serve as the Bears' third defensive coordinator in four years. Norwood's 4-3 has produced mixed results. It has made a tackling machine out of linebacker Joe Pawelek, but it also has yielded an average of 24 points a game, not a good sign with OU due in Waco Saturday.

About special teams: The Bears usually need a good punter, and they have one this season in Derek Epperson (a 43.5-yard average). Freshman kicker Ben Parks is 2-of-3 on field goals. The Bears' return units are decent, statistically, but nothing more.