By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher

The Topper
>As Rivals regional analyst Nick Harris and I mentioned, the names we gave you as DC candidates and ST coordinator are early but seem like strong possibilities. Former Baylor safeties coach and ST coordinator Matthew Powledge might be the toughest of the candidates to land.

He has a pretty good situation at Oregon as the Co-DC. Time will tell where that goes because Powledge is a head coach in the making. He has to move to an opportunity that can advance that. While Baylor is a good position, the potential issue would be is that Powledge is coaching under a head coach with a defensive background.

Timeframe for these positions to be filled is anyone’s guess. Early thinking is sometime next week. Baylor could easily wrap up Bill Busch since he was just let go at Nebraska on Wednesday.

>If you missed it in the coaching change thread, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda is expected to call the defense in the bowl game.

>Baylor is not expecting any official visitors this weekend. Also, there has been no offer extended to 2023 LB target Latreveon McCutchin out of Austin LBJ. He visited for the Kansas State game.

>Have talked to a few Baylor defensive 2023 defensive commits including Lewisville defensive back Caden Jenkins, Fort Bend Ridge Point defensive tackle, DK Kalu and Mesquite Horn safety DJ Coleman who said they are very much locked in with Baylor.


Recruiting returns
Baylor coaches can head out on the road starting Friday as the dead period ends. You will likely see Shawn Bell watching QB Austin Novosad in the Class 6A Division II state quarterfinal when Dripping Springs plays Austin Vandergrift at 7 pm Friday at Gupton Stadium in Cedar Park.

Offensive line coach Eric Mateos likely will check out Argyle OL Wes Tucker in the 5A Division II state quarterfinal against Abilene Wylie at 7 pm Friday at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville.

Running backs coach Justin Johnson should be watching Franklin RB Bryson Washington in the 3A Division I state quarterfinal at 7 pm Friday in Tomball.

Defensive backs coach Kevin Curtis likely be on hand to watch DB Caden Jenkins when Lewisville plays Prosper in the 6A Division I state quarterfinal a 2 pm Saturday in McKinney.

Should note that other Baylor assistant likely will be in attendance as well. We’re matching position coaches up with those who are still playing.


JUCO DT talks offer
When Baylor NT Apu Ika accepted his invitation to play in the Senior Bowl, BU’s coaching staff needed to find someone who could fill that void.

One option is Hutchinson (KS) CC defensive tackle Jarrel Boykins, Jr. Baylor recently offered Boykins. He’s toward the end of his freshman season and has been a pretty hot commodity. Boykins is talking with Baylor defensive line coach Dennis Johnson.

“I talked to coach Johnson a little over the break,’’ Boykins said. “If I am going to take a visit it will more than likely he after our national championship game on the 14th.”

But first things first. Hutchinson has to get past Coffeyville in the NJCAA National Semifinals on Saturday.

The Gonzales (LA) native has three years to play four. He has already secured 13 offers including P5 offers from Nebraska, Colorado and Washington State along with potential American Athletic Conference Champion Tulane. Boykins was rated a 3-star with a 5.6 when he was in the 2021 class.

“Coach Johnson said he loved my film,’’ Boykins said. “And yes they are losing [Apu Ika] who’s going to the NFL draft so they wanted to bring in someone to fill that role. He really likes my power and explosiveness.’’

Baylor will need someone in the middle to set the tone for the 3-3-5. Defensive productivity numbers aren’t necessarily a factor for nose tackled. But a good one can clog the A gaps and then funnel things properly. Boykins has seven solo tackles and 11 assisted tackles this season.

If things move to where Boykins and Baylor set an official visit, it could be the weekend of Dec. 16. Time will tell.

“I’ve heard the atmosphere is great there,’’ Boykins said. “I would say my style of play is very disruptive and dominant.”


SicEmSports Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports unveils its looks at the league who in its view deserves to be ranked where. Agree or disagree, here’s how they look.
1. TCU – One more win to clinch CFB Playoff berth
2. Kansas State – A chance to spoil TCU’s hopes
3. Texas – Longhorns think of a season that might have been
4. Oklahoma State — Messy finish to the 2022 season
5. Texas Tech – Joey McGuire’s debut season a success
6. Oklahoma – Sooners defense needs an overhaul in the offseason
7. Baylor – A season of major disappointment leads to DC Ron Roberts’ ouster
8. Kansas – Lance Leipold earns contract extension
9. West Virginia – Neal Brown to return in 2023
10. Iowa State – Everything was a total collapse

Big 12 Weekend - Big 12 Championship Game
No. 3 TCU (12-0) vs. No. 10 Kansas State (9-3); 11:00 a.m., AT&T Stadium, Arlington (ABC)
Series: Tied, 8-8; TCU won Oct. 22 in Fort Worth, 38-28
Big 12 Title Game History: Kansas State – 1998, 2000, 2003 [won]; TCU – 2017
Notable: Horned Frogs wrap up their College Football Playoff berth with a win. QB Max Duggan is the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, while Sonny Dykes is the Coach of the Year. Kansas State has found some success with QB Will Howard running the offense. This should be a pretty good matchup. In the first meeting, KSU held a 28-10 lead before TCU stormed back to win it. A Kansas State win might put TCU’s playoff hopes in jeopardy. Kansas State junior defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah earned conference Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Honors.

Lady Bears get No. 20 Rice at 7 pm Friday. Rice beat Colorado in four sets.

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The holdup was getting the Rose Bowl situated with its original arrangement with the PAC 12 and Big 10. Now, we can hear complaints about the 13th team, not the 5th.

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Rob Cassidy has the breakdown.

By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Baylor’s quarterback roster shrunk on Wednesday when backup Kyron Drones announced his intentions to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Drones can officially enter on Monday.

Drones is the third Bears’ QB to leave. Gerry Bohanon (South Florida) left in late April. Walk-on CJ Rogers (Texas State) left in June.

When Baylor plays its bowl game later this month it will be down to one scholarship QB in starter Blake Shapen. The presumed backup for the game is walk-on Luke Anthony.

So where does Baylor go from here? Let’s take a look:

On campus
Shapen played every game this year and had 93 percent of the passing attempts by all of the Baylor signal callers this year. Even though he had to exit the Oct. 13 game at West Virginia in the second half with a concussion, he was able to return for the Oct. 22 matchup against Kansas.

The other walk-ons besides Anthony are Landy Kinne and Brayson McHenry.

Who is coming
Baylor had to hold off a serious charge from Texas A&M over the summer. But on Sept. 1, Dripping Springs QB Austin Novosad, Rivals No. 61 2023 prospect, announced on social media he was sticking with his pledge to Baylor.

Novosad and the rest of the Baylor class are expected to sign their letters of intent on Dec. 21. There has been no indication that Novosad has wavered since that announcement. He is also a January arrival.

Should Baylor go into the portal?
My answer is it depends on what the staff really wants in a third quarterback on scholarship. Baylor managed to get by with two this season.

Keep in mind that quarterbacks enter the transfer portal with the idea that they can compete and win the job wherever they go.

That’s what happened with Bohanon when he went to South Florida. Same thing with Jacob Zeno when he ended up at UAB.

The best-case scenario for Baylor is to find a graduate transfer QB, a rental if you will, for one season. Perhaps he has some experience and is comfortable to run a college offense. Maybe he’s not a threat to compete for the starting job, but he’s a good insurance policy. There are QBs like that out there.

Looking into the offseason
If you want to say that Baylor’s offseason begins with the practices for the bowl game, fine. I don’t think Baylor should look at it that way. It should approach the game like it would any other game. The idea is to win.

But when the offseason starts when the players return in January along Novosad and other enrollees, I believe there needs to be a true competition for the starting quarterback job in 2023.

I will give Shapen some benefit of the doubt. He was a first-year starter who went through the ups and downs and maybe now has an understanding of what it takes to play the position. You have to grow into playing QB. Go look at Max Duggan at TCU. He drifted into the abyss for years before he broke out this fall.

To this day, I don’t have a problem with Shapen winning the job over Bohanon out of spring ball because he’s a better fit for this offense than Bohanon is. Shapen has play-making ability with his arm. That’s why you play QB not because you can run it. Bohanon is a game manager who can run.

I don’t need my QB to run a lot. What I need him to do is sidestep pass rushers, keep looking downfield for second and third reads and keep drives going. Pick your spots to run.

I don’t have anything against dual-threat QBs. But running QBs will get hurt more than pocket QBs because they are more susceptible to injury in the open field. Bohanon popped his hamstring at Kansas State last year.

Having said all this there needs to be a competition. Shapen didn’t earn the right to be guaranteed the starting job following a season where he turned it over 13 times, 12 in the last eight games.

Plus, this offense wasn’t very good in the red zone. The Bears were ninth in the Big 12 at nearly 81 percent (42-52 with 37 touchdowns). That’s not gonna work for the RVO offense that grinds out the yards and consumes the clock.

He must work for this. And if you’re Novosad looking at the QB room the way it’s currently constructed, you walk on to the Baylor campus next month thinking you have a chance to compete and win this job.

This is about production when it matters, taking care of the football and making good decisions. Plus, a competition should cause those in that space to rise to the challenge and play at their best.

Should be an interesting offseason at the Baylor QB position.

Reese deserved it. He's at 962 yards (barring injury, he should hit 1,000 in the bowl game) and 14 TDs.

Apu was first-team NT while Doyle was second-team at FB & LB. I can see that. Doyle pretty good in a lot of those short-yardage situations.

Here are the honorable mentions:
Monaray Baldwin (WR), Jacob Gall (OLoY), Gabe Hall (DL), Gavin Holmes (KR/PR), Siaki Ika (DLoY), Matt Jones (LB), Devin Lemear (DB, DFoY), John Mayers (PK), Micah Mazzccua (OL), Grant Miller (OL), Mark Milton (DB), Isaac Power (P), Hal Presley (WR), Richard Reese (RB), Blake Shapen (QB), Ben Sims (TE), Al Walcott (DB)

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Speculation is now over. Drones officially enters Dec. 5.

Drones, the redshirt Freshmen from Alvin Shadow Creek, appeared in five games in 2022. He was 14-23-1 for 219 yards and a TD.

Bears are down to one scholarship QB for the bowl in starter Blake Shapen. The backup is walk on Luke Anthony.

Provided he signs Dec. 14, Austin Novosad arrives in January.


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We cover Kyron Drones entering the portal, Baylor basketball's tough game, and pick some of the championship games.



Came in at 22:20

Listen to the podcast here

Well, I had a public address announcing assignment Tuesday night and couldn't watch. But I tracked a little bit and got caught up.

I thought the Bears could be in for a tough performance. Maybe they win close or lose close. Didn't think this would happen.

A combination of Marquette putting the clamps on Baylor defensively forcing 16 turnovers in the first half, a 23-2 in where there nine consecutive made shots and no answer for Marquette's Olivier-Maxence Prosper who had 24 turned this into a blowout.

Then the Golden Eagles came out to the start the second half making their first six attempts. Baylor got no closer than 22.

Stunning. The Bears shot it fine but when you get turned over and can't stop the ball, you're asking for it. And the real concern about issues in the block appeared again.

Flo Thamba was a no show with 1 point and playing in foul trouble. West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges is giving you the hmm against really good teams. He had eight in this one when it really didn't matter.

I don't know what they're going to do against Drew Timme and Gonzaga on Friday in Sioux Falls, S.D.

LJ Cryer led with 19. Adam Flagler with 16. Keyonte George 12.

By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Baylor’s 2022 season concluded last Friday with a 38-27 loss at Texas. The Bears finished at 6-6 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12. They held a 19-17 halftime lead and then took a 27-24 lead in the opening moments of the fourth quarter.

However, Texas was able to use its rushing attack to move successfully against the defense and score on its next two possessions. Baylor’s offense didn’t score in the second half and only had 56 yards of production.

Baylor now awaits its bowl assignment which will be announced on Sunday after the college football playoff teams and NY6 games are released.

So what was trending from a buying and selling mode from Texas? SicEmSports continues its new segment that began with the conference opener against Iowa State and runs through the rest of the season.


Buying: The Start
If you had wondered about this team’s willingness to play the game after the way it lost to TCU, you probably could have understood if it came into this one flat. But they didn’t. That’s one thing about Dave Aranda’s teams. While they have had more than their share of tough setbacks, they have been a resilient group, not felt sorry for themselves and competed. That’s half the battle. The 9-0 nothing jump revealed that. What made it better is that when they took the 2-0 lead on the Quinn Ewers intentional grounding in the end zone, they scored off the Texas free kick.

Selling: Defensive line
They got a good pash run on Ewers and recorded five sacks. The last of which led to the Gabe Hall scoop and score. But when it was on the line in the fourth quarter as Texas decided to lean on Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, the front offered pretty much presented no resistance. This group was the strangest story all season. Because everybody was coming back and it added depth with Tulsa transfer and Waco product Jaxon Player, it just never translated this year. Nothing close to the group we saw in 2021.

Buying: Al Walcott
It took all the way to the end of the season, but Walcott really looked comfortable playing in the star role. Maybe switching to him in fall camp was a bit late. However, football is a repetition sport. He didn’t walk on Senior Day against TCU. The good news is that if he really is going to return in 2023 he’ll have a full season to work on the position. The strip sack forced fumble is what that position is designed to do.

Selling: Special teams
The kicking game hurt this team again. It impacted the game by 10 points, seven that were created for Texas and three that the Bears missed. First, there is the Issac Power shank punt of 11 yards that went out of bounds at the Baylor 29 that led to a Texas touchdown and gave the Longhorns the lead, 14-9. Then there was the forced fumble in the third quarter. The Bears got it at their 47 and drove to the Texas 22 where John Mayers missed from 40. Now, Mayers’ 40-yard FG issues have returned. He’s missed his last two from that distance.

Buying: Bowl practices
However many this team gets before its bowl assignment should be treated as a special spring football season. This team needs to work on all of the little things. Quarterback Blake Shapen has to use this time to be in the film room looking at every game where his mistakes really hurt this team. The Bears can’t fix it all before the bowl game. But they can show signs that they’re getting it right.

PFF OL Grades
Thanks to Rivals’ relationship with Pro Football Focus, each week we’ll share with you how Baylor’s offensive line graded from the previous week. This one comes following Texas. We’ll break it down from run blocking, pass blocking and overall in that order.
Grant Miller: 76 snaps, 62.3 run, 88.5 pass = 67.0
Jacob Gall: 76 snaps, 70.4 run, 77.2 pass = 74.7
Khalil Keith: 76 snaps, 42.3 run, 80.8 pass = 54.2
Connor Galvin: 76 snaps, 63.1 run, 90.5 pass = 72.7
Mose Jeffery: 76 snaps, 57.2 run, 76.8 pass = 61.3

By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
At Austin's Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Friday, Texas’ rushing attack overpowered Baylor in the fourth quarter and the Bears couldn’t sustain the momentum of a defensive scoop and score touchdown as the Longhorns beat Baylor, 38-27.

Baylor (6-6, 4-5) finished the regular season losing its last three and has lost his last four trips to Texas. Texas (8-4, 6-3) now awaits its Big 12 championship game fate. If Kansas State beats Kansas Saturday, the Wildcats will face TCU in the Big 12 title game on Dec. 3 at AT&T Stadium. If Kansas upsets Kansas State, Texas advances.

A back-and-forth first half changed in the fourth quarter. Texas held a 24-19 lead early in the period when Gabe Hall picked up Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers’ fumble – knocked out by Al Walcott – and scampered 16 yards. A two-point conversion on a screen to Hal Presley gave the Bears a 27-24 lead.

However, Texas answered with an 11-play drive – all runs – and took the lead the lead for good, 31-27, on Bijan Robinson’s 1-yard run. Robinson finished with 179 yards.

Needing to respond, Baylor had the ball at its 43. However, quarterback Blake Shapen was picked off by Texas linebacker Jaylan Ford who returned it to the Baylor 42. Roschon Johnson finished the drive with a wildcat 11-yard scoring run that culminated with him hurdling a Baylor defender. It put the game out of reach. Texas finished with 208 rushing yards.

For Shapen, he finished the regular season committing 12 turnovers in his last eight games, nine interceptions and three fumbles.

Baylor had the start it wanted. It used a safety – Ewers called for intentional grounding in the end zone – and touchdown drive that finished on Shapen’s 47-yard bomb to Jaylen Ellis that gave the Bears a 9-0 lead.

However, Texas rallied to take a 14-9 lead on an Ewers 3-yard run and Robinson 2-yard run. Robinson’s first score was helped by an Issac Power 11-yard punt that gave Texas the ball at the Baylor 29. The Bears took a 19-17 lead to the half when Shapen delivered a 14-yard touchdown pass to Ben Sims inside the final minute.

Baylor now awaits its bowl situation. That will be announced on Dec. 4. Some bowl projections had the Bears going to the Liberty Bowl Dec. 28 in Memphis.

By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
It’s the Christmas season. And the RJB is using all of these forthcoming Mondays to break out some of its favorites. Sure, you’ve heard them years prior. But we’ve all heard Christmas Carols years prior, and we don’t tire of them. We just enjoy them.

The RJB will start off with one of its favorites from the Trans-Siiberian Orchestra. It’s just a great holiday jam. No further explanation of Wizards in Winter. Of course, you can’t do it without the house Christmas lights in sync with the music.

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Oh, and here’s an amusing Christmas Ad from Acura with the Great Gordon Ramsay.

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*****
We’re going to have plenty of time in December to perform the autopsy on the 2022 football season.

Of course, we know this season fell well short of expectations. Quarterback turned it over far too much. Offensive line was bad early, played pretty well in the second half and then just got beat by Texas. Defensive line was probably the most disappointing part of this team.

It’s rare to see a unit that was so good one year be so average the next with just about everybody back. The short answer is either these guys peaked in 2021 or got scouted so well in the offseason and the week leading up to games, that teams knew how to beat them.

I get it that people want to beat up on Blake Shapen. It’s hard not to for a guy who wins the starting quarterback job out of camp, and you believe the offense could perform even better in 2022. It didn’t come close.

For me, it’s the defensive line. That 11-play all rushing drive Texas had in the fourth quarter Friday to take the lead crystalized that group for 2022. When it had to do something, it couldn’t.

More to come throughout the coming weeks.

*****
As for the bowl projections, it you want to travel with the Bears after Christmas, you’re probably looking at Phoenix or Memphis. If it’s Phoenix, it will be Baylor’s second trip out there (it was there in 2016 when it beat Boise State). Projections have them playing Wisconsin.

If it’s the Liberty, then the Bears are facing someone like Arkansas, Florida or Missouri. Typically, 6-6 teams are going to face 6-6 teams. You want to create matchups where things aren’t imbalanced.

Let’s face it, 6-6 teams deserve to face each other. They all kind of speak the same language. They were good in some areas and inconsistent in others.

There’s also a little pressure involved because you don’t want to end the season with a losing record. It should matter.

Well, it should matter all the time when you put on the pads and helmet and get between the white lines. If you’re not wanting to be out there, it’s going to show up.

Look at it this way, Baylor is going to be in a bowl for the fourth time in the last six seasons and 11 out of the last 13. Obviously, the bowl system is watered down to the point where you can’t keep up with the games unless your team is playing in one.

*****
Now to the College Football Playoffs. You’re probably torn by TCU. The archrival is on the verge of playing in this blessed event.

The Horned Frogs would be the only other team other than Oklahoma to ever represent the Big 12. Good for the Big 12 but you’re going to have to suck it up if it’s the Horned Frogs.

Or perhaps you really don’t care if the Big 12 is represented in the playoff and you want Kansas State to pull off the upset. Actually, I think the Wildcats can. In that first meeting with TCU in Fort Worth, they jumped out to a 28-10 lead and then ran out of gas.

There’s no way Georgia isn’t going even if it gets upset by LSU – nice flat tire at Texas A&M – in the anti-climactic SEC championship game.

Michigan isn’t losing to Purdue in the Big 10 Championship game unless the Boilermakers play beyond their skis and the Wolverines don’t come down from the win at Ohio State. That wasn’t the case last year when Michigan drilled Iowa after it beat the Buckeyes.

USC likely will jump into the fourth spot when the new ranking are released on Tuesday. All the Trojans would have to do is beat Utah in the PAC 12 championship game Friday in Las Vegas. But keep in mind the Utes are the only ones to beat the Trojans this season.

Ohio State would need a lot of help. The Buckeyes don’t have any good wins other than Notre Dame. And dare I say 2-loss Alabama – a team that lost its two games on the final play – could be hanging around to see what happens. That’s unlikely but stranger things have happened.

Clemson, Oregon and Tennessee are toast. TCU is the most vulnerable of the teams playing this weekend.

*****
The coaching carousel got moving quickly over the weekend. Former Baylor head coach Matt Rhule takes his act to Nebraska. Arizona State hired its new coach in Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham.

In a move that hurts the Big 12 is Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell moving on to take over at Wisconsin. Here’s why I think it’s telling for this league.

First, Fickell, who just had his Bearcats play in the college football playoff last year, might believe his window is closing for a program that is moving up to the P5 world. Cincinnati joins the Big 12 July 1, 2023.

Second, Wisconsin is a better job than Cincinnati. It’s the No. 1 school in that state while Cincinnati is in Ohio State’s shadow. The new TV rights deal the Big 10 has will bring far more dollars and increase the resources than the Big 12’s new rights deal.

Third, Fickell, who was an assistant at Ohio State, will eventually want the Ohio State job if it ever becomes available should Ryan Day falter. What better way to prove it than to win in the Big 10 and win enough to where Ohio State would be willing to move on him.

Now, the pressure is on Cincinnati to make a shrewd hire to try and sustain what Fickell built.

There’s nothing open in the Big 12 yet. You have Neal Brown twisting in the wind at West Virginia with everything that’s going on there.

As a flyer, I wonder if Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State is considering how much further he wants to go at his alma mater and maybe try something else. This season really collapsed at the end to a 7-5 finish. If you were him, maybe you see how the carousel turns to see what you might want to do.

He’s had these dalliances with Tennessee and Arkansas but stayed in Stillwater. I will admit to you that I’m throwing something against the wall to see if it sticks.


Let’s make it a great week!

We still have Novosad, Washington, Tucker and Jenkins into the state quarterfinals.

Commitment Chart

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Women hanging in there in their poll at No. 21

Lady Bears will host later this week. Details to come.

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Here's the bracket.

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There were several "Whoa!" games last week. In the Big 12, the only real Whoa! was Oklahoma State crashing all the way to the ground. October 29th was the day. OSU woke up with a 6-1 record, with only a three point loss to TCU marring it. Then, they got mudholed at Kansas State and finished the season, 1-4 in their last five games. It shows how fast things change in college football. Gundy went from being the toast of the Big 12 to "What's up with Gundy?" Well, Gundy's Gundy, and in eighteen years at Oklahoma State, he's ended up with seven or eight wins eight times. He's not far out of his lane.

Baylor's going to a bowl game. That game will determine whether they have a wining or losing season. Nobody expected this in August. This may be discussed a little in the off season, along with the quarterback situation.

Anyone who had this as the final Big 12 conference rankings in August could be sitting on a beach with Pina Coladas right now.

Texas figured out too late that they could out-personnel most of the teams they play.

Here are the final Big 12 standings, conference only.


Outside of the Big 12, there were some crazy games.

A tale of two teams

Iowa State and Texas A&M both had insanely disappointing seasons, A&M more so, because they expected to challenge for the playoffs. Neither team is going to a bowl, but there was a heck of a contrast in how each team approached their last game. Iowa State played like they just wanted to go home. A&M played like it was their Super Bowl. You have to give A&M credit. They whipped LSU. Maybe the Tigers were taking the Aggies for granted, but it does show that often, there's not that much difference in talent, but motivation can mean everything.
TCU knows they won't get any respect, and being undefeated is the only way they make the playoffs. They're playing like they care.
LSU may have been looking forward to Georgia next week. Even the players and coaches may not know why they were so flat, but both TCU and A&M were home, and home field advantage means a LOT in college football.

Playoffs? You talking about playoffs?

Going into the weekend, there were four undefeated P5 teams. We knew there would be a maximum of three coming out of the weekend, since Michigan and Ohio State were two of them. Most people expected Ohio State to come out on top, but wouldn't have been too shocked if Michigan won. They were flabbergasted at the curb stomping the Wolverines put on OSU. Going back to the LSU-A&M game, last week the playoff committee had LSU at 9-2 ahead of both a 10-1 Southern Cal and a 10-1 Clemson. LSU had it all in front of them.
South Carolina has taken both Tennessee and Clemson out of the playoff talk.

Lincoln Riley. Say it to a Sooner they'll look like this:


How the B12 fan bases perceive their coaches now:
Thrilled!

Sonny Dykes
Chris Klieman
Joey McGuire

Pretty happy

Lance Leipold

Not sure

Steve Sarkisian


Mike Gundy
Matt Campbell
Dave Aranda


Brent Venables
Neal Brown

Didn't figure Rhule would be unemployed long.
He could be what the Huskers need, and the B1G West has been weak.
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By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Baylor closed its regular season on Friday with a 38-27 loss to Texas at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.

The Bears had momentum early in the fourth quarter. Star Al Walcott knocked the ball loose from Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and defensive tackle Gabe Hall picked up the free ball and raced in from 16 yards out to give the Bears a 27-24 lead.

However, Texas scored 14 unanswered points on its next two offensive possessions – the second seven from a Blake Shapen interception – to finish it off.

Baylor lost its last three games to finish 6-6 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12.

Now, the Bears await their bowl selection on Sunday, Dec. 4 after the College Football Playoff teams and New Year’s 6 Bowl game matchups are announced.

SicEmSports provides reflections, observations and three Golden Bears from this one.


Upon Reflection
Everything you wanted to know about this football season transpired in the first seven minutes and the last eight minutes.

When we saw the Bears jump out to a 9-0 lead, they never looked better. Given his track record, I was a bit surprised Dave Aranda on the first possession with the ball at midfield even with a fourth and eight at the Texas 48. But that was the right thing. Texas pinned deep. Ewers is hit with a safety. It’s 2-0 Baylor.

Then the Bears hit the big vertical when Shapen throws a 47-yard bomb to Jaylen Ellis (remember him?). Now, 9-0, Bears.

You’re thinking, “Alright, we’re rollin’.’’ After the game settles in, the Bears show some grit, rally from a deficit and lead at the break, 19-17.

Then in the fourth quarter, it comes apart. The defensive line, which really needed to step up after the defensive score, gets pushed around for 11 consecutive running plays. Texas takes the lead. Shapen throws the pick. The Longhorns score off that when Roschon Johnson hurdles Snaxx Johnson and gets to the pylon.

Those sequences are the byproduct of 6-6 team. Could be really good at times. Could be really poor at times. It’s called inconsistencies.


Shapen’s status
Obviously, Shapen’s situation is far from rock solid. He finished the year poorly and with the kind of streak you don’t want to have – 12 turnovers in his last eight games, 9 interceptions, three fumbles.

One of the reasons he won this job over Gerry Bohanon was the TD pass to Ellis. Bohanon can’t make that throw. Shapen can. Baylor’s passing game was missing the deep vertical from the 2021 Big 12 championship season.

His fast start in Austin fizzled when he completed just 50 percent of his attempts (18-36-1). He should the start the bowl game. What you hope he does is use the extra practices to see where his issues lie, work on them and then work diligently in the offseason so he can learn and be better for it.

As a first-year starting quarterback, you would have hoped that he would have been playing better in November as he started to become more comfortable in that role. That just never happened.

He actually tailed off at the end. For the season, he completed 64 percent of his attempts. In November, he was 75-127-5 (59 percent) and three TD passes.

There needs to be a QB competition in the spring between himself, Kyron Drones (provided he doesn’t leave) and 2023 commit and January arrival Austin Novosad. The bowl game performance cannot be viewed as a “He figured it out. We’re all good.’’ storyline. Shapen has to fight to keep this job.


As for Drones
I don’t know what’s going to happen here. The word I have from about two weeks ago is that nothing has changed with his situation. Maybe he could have come in and played more for the times when Shapen was struggling. Kansas State would have been the only time this month for that to happen.

Shapen wasn’t coming out at Oklahoma. He wasn’t coming out against TCU. He wasn’t coming out against Texas.

It’s the traditional backup QB is the most popular guy on the team talk. Indeed, we saw some good things from Drones against West Virginia. But as that game wore on, he got a little shaky. Still, growth for him.

Obviously, we’ll watch and see what happens when the portal period opens on Dec. 5. But keep in mind when QBs in Drones situation (remember Jacob Zeno) hit the portal they better do so when they know what the QB landscape for Division I is. Zeno (UAB) and Bohanon (South Florida) did not improve their situations as far as programs go. They improved their situation to where they would be a starter. That turned out to be at the G5 level.

That’s what Drones needs to decide. Do I want to be a part of a program that wins and I could sit or do I want to go to a place where it’s down and I can be the starter?


Later this week
Buying and Selling Baylor will be a little more detailed this week. It won’t go position by position because there’s still the bowl game to play. I’ll get a little more into the bowl discussion in What was he Thinking. Could be Liberty in Memphis. Could be Guarantee Rate in Phoenix.


Recruiting calendar
A brief dead period starts Monday and runs through Thursday. The contact period when coaches can visit players on high school campuses begins on Friday. That runs until Dec. 18 when the next dead period begins Dec. 19.


Golden Bears
The yearly tradition returns where SicEmSports highlights the three players who stood out in their performance on a weekly basis. Win or lose, they deserve the recognition.

The following are from Baylor’s 38-27 loss at Texas.

Al Walcott, Star, Sr.: He was pretty active throughout the game. Of course, he had the key forced fumble that led to Hall’s scamper. Walcott led all defenders in tackles. Probably his best game of the year.

Notable – 6 solo tackles, 4 assisted tackles, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles

Dillon Doyle, LB, Sr.: There was some early success against Texas RB Bijan Robinson. Obviously, it didn’t finish that. However, Doyle was active and aggressive even moving sideline to sideline.

Notable – 4 solo tackles, 5 assisted tackles

Jaylen Ellis, WR, Jr.: Admittedly, this is a stretch. But that 47-yard touchdown reception for Baylor’s first offensive score was a nicely run pattern. Baylor went to him when they weren’t going to have Gavin Holmes. He broke it well, got behind the defender and waltzed int. He was targeted two other times. Shapen just didn’t get it to him.



Notable – Receiving: 1-47 TD

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Dave Aranda

(How much do you use this month between the bowl game for the younger guys and use it as a camp period, how much is it just regular practice?)

No, that’s a good question. I think a lot of it’s going to be working to kind of reset off these last couple of games that we’ve had that have just been tough games. So, the emotions in our locker room right now are pretty strong. So, I think the ability to have a little bit of time off from all of it and to kind of get the appetite back to kind of go again and put yourself out there and all of that I think is way important. And then I think once we do that – I think as both players and staff – and then I think once we do that then it’s the ability to kind of focus in on these things that we’re bringing up. Because, for sure they’re going to come up in this bowl game. And so, we’d love to be at our best in this game. And so, that’ll be a focus. But then I think that the opportunity to get our young players reps and make it competitive and kind of build for the future is also part of it. So, I feel like we can do both.

(On those final two TD drives for Texas, they didn’t throw the ball once. What caused you guys to not be able to stop the run?)

Yeah, I think … It's a good question. I think the pressing. I think the trying to make a play when it’s not your play. I think, “Oh, here we go again.” I think all of those things.

(How much momentum did y’all have … didn't seem like it carried over after the half … how much momentum did you carry to the half?)

I thought at halftime it was … I thought there was a lot of confidence but it was measured confidence, though. I thought it was a calculating feeling. Guys were talking the truth and were kind of speaking honestly about the thing to do or what to stay away from and what’s working and what’s not. So, appreciative of that. I thought that coming out of it, I felt like we were in good head space. But I have to believe that fighting through some of that adversity in that early third and then getting to where it really mattered, we were clearly not at our best. And so, that’s something that we’ve gotta continue to work on.

(Has the mood shifted in the last three weeks from that OU win to now)

Well, frustration is there. Disappointment is there. I think winning, you don’t feel those things. And I think winning at times can cover up things. I think losing opens up everything, you know? So, every wound is kind of fully visible and fully open. And so, our ability to kind of run into that man and not pretend like we ain’t seeing it and not address it and all that thing, I think is the task we’ve had the last couple of weeks. So, it goes on.

(Didn’t have a penalty until that goal line play, did you like what you saw from that standpoint?)

Yeah. I think that’s one of possibly a few instances for us, one step forward in one area and then two steps back in another. And so, I think the fight with the team has to all collectively take a couple of steps forward. And so, one more opportunity for that to try to get that done.

Ben Sims
I feel like a couple times this season, it’s about us getting knocked down and being able to get back up. And every time we get back up, it’s not always necessarily the outcome we wanted. Last week, we had TCU on the ropes. And this week, we had an opportunity to close out a game and we couldn’t do it. It’s about being able to get back up and throw that next punch. And that’s just something we couldn’t do.

(can’t get out of your own way) That’s one of the things we talked about at halftime is how we were up, but we still couldn’t find a way to get out of our own way. And it’s really just the little things that do it. Our potential is so much better when we can do simple better. But we couldn’t.

I think our offense is a long-drive offense, sustainable drives. And I feel like we had a few good ones, but again it’s being able to stay out of our own way. It was difficult to do today, especially when you have a chance to close out a game.

(momentum going in at halftime) Absolutely. We had a chance to come back out, and hopefully the defense would get a stop for us and we’d get something going, but we couldn’t.

(seeing the defense put pressure on the QB) That’s really cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of our guys get a sack fumble for a touchdown. I’m really proud of Gabe. It was Gabe Hall, wasn’t it? All the stuff you saw today with the sacks and the sack fumble, all that stuff happens in practice and it’s finally coming to fruition. I’m proud of those guys.

(losing your last 3) It’s never what you hope for, obviously. Nobody wants to lose games, nobody wants to be put in really hard situations. Especially when you go three straight, it feels like we keep getting beat up and we’re trying to get up and we’re trying to fight our way out of it.

Bryson Jackson
Good pass rush…

This is something that we worked on all week. It was an emphasis. We wanted to get pressure on the quarterback to make him throw the ball, so we can get our DBs active. Throughout the game I think we got pressure on them. It’s just a success on stopping the run and stuff like that kind of beat us down a little.

Scoop and score…

It was a momentum changer and I wish we could capitalize on it, but it definitely did give us a little motivation to go in and for offense to come out there. So that's what we set out to do.


Good in close games last year, not this year. Difference?

The thing that we've been working on is just finishing strong. We have a lot of talent and we work hard, but just the understanding that we got to finish and play all four quarters is something that's major. It hurts. It's definitely a challenge for us. We’re given another opportunity. So we're going to work on that.

Bijan impact

They were hitting on all cylinders as far as their offensive line and Bijan was making great reads and cuts. So kudos to him and their efforts. It's something that we struggle with just stopping the run and playing our gaps and playing two gaps. We didn't get the play two gaps and stop the run and push them back. So that hurt us a little bit and it made the outcome what it is today.

Two gaps…

In situations like that you want to play two gaps and you want to be able to get on them and get squared up and push them back and get everybody else to the party. So that's something that has to happen. And I wish we could have execute that.

(Time off for bowl game) It’s definitely important that our leaders stay together and keep this team tight. It’s a special team. We’ve got younger guys who can play and older guys who can play. We’ve got to all put that together. It’s all overdue to see what we’re really about. I think once we step back and get to practicing, and we go back to fundamentals to what our culture is and what our standards are, and get better as a unit.

(Is next month like summer camp schedule) So far, I don’t know the schedule as of now. But I would assume that we’ll practice two weeks before the bowl game. But it will probably be semi like camp. I don’t know the plans. But I would assume that once we all get together and talk about it, it will probably be similar to that, just practices and similar to fall camp.

(Three straight losses) It hurts. I’m hurting for everybody in there just because of the work we put in. It’s a tough loss. We came into this game all the way to the end thinking we were going to win, so just a kick in the face. It hurts. But we’ve got to look at it like life sucks sometimes and we’ve got to get back and get over that adversity and hurt.

(Walcott blitzes) At his position, we wanted to be able to come in and get good pressure on the quarterback. It’s critical in passing downs and he can play in those drops and stuff like that. He’s definitely been doing really good fitting his gaps and playing his game of football. You want to play assignment football but at the same time make plays. He can do that and we need more of that on our team. Just put a bigger emphasis on it, just do your job and don’t stress about it, and go make plays as well.

The No. 17-ranked Baylor volleyball team swept Kansas State on Saturday afternoon in the Ferrell Center, 3-0.

The Bears (23-6, 12-4 Big 12 Conference) closed out the regular-season at home with the Wildcats (15-14, 6-10 Big 12), taking the win 25-20, 25-20, 25-20.

The last time a Baylor squad had a sweep with the same score in all three sets was in 2019 when BU went 25-20 in all three against Creighton.

Baylor was led by Elise McGhee in kills with 14 while Averi Carlson led in assists (29) and digs (12) for another double-double. Kara McGhee led the team in blocks with four, including one solo.

The Bears will wait for their name to be called in the 2022 NCAA Volleyball Selection Show, airing on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

The Bears will face the winner of the No. 22 Michigan/USF game tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. CT in the Gulf Coast Showcase championship game.

• In just the second meeting ever between Baylor and Villanova, the Bears topped the Wildcats, 75-70.
• BU improved to 10-3 all-time against the Big East Conference.
• The victory marks Baylor’s first top-25 non-conference win since besting then-No. 17/23 Indiana, 77-62, in the U.S. Virgin Islands during the 2019-20 campaign.
• The Bears outrebounded the Wildcats, 43-38, marking the fifth time in six games this season that BU has grabbed more boards than its opponent.
• For the third time this season, and second-straight game, Baylor saw five Bears reach double-figure scoring.
• Fifth-year Caitlin Bickle logged her second-career double-double, finishing with a season-high 18 points and career-high 12 rebounds.
• Senior Jaden Owens registered a career-high 17 points and led the Bears in assists (2) for the sixth-straight outing. She also matched a career-best five rebounds.
• Junior Sarah Andrews reached double-figure scoring in the sixth-straight game to start the year, finishing with 13.
• Baylor held Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist to her second-lowest scoring output (22) as the senior led the Wildcats in the category.

Season's flown by. This is the last regular season pick 'em. Week 14 will be the conference championships.
@ekluxhoj got the win! @efernandez14 also came in 6-4, but missed on the tiebreaker. @jbhouse was the only one who correctly picked Arkansas-Ole Miss, and @seguinagave was the only one who correctly picked Iowa-Minnesota.



This week's games: (Tiebreaker is Baylor-UT point spread.

Friday, November 25.
Baylor (6-5, 4-4) @ #24 Texas (7-4, 5-3)
#19 Tulane (9-2, 6-1) @ #21 Cincinnati (9-2, 6-1)
Arkansas (6-5, 3-4) @ Missouri (5-6, 2-5)

Saturday, November 26
West Virginia (4-7, 2-6) @ #RV Oklahoma State (7-4, 4-4)
Iowa State (4-7, 1-7) @ #4 TCU (11-0, 8-0)
Oklahoma (6-5, 3-5) @ Texas Tech (6-5, 4-4)
Kansas (6-5, 3-5) @ #15 Kansas State (8-3, 6-2)
#3 Michigan (11-0, 8-0) @ #2 Ohio State (11-0, 8-0)
#13 Notre Dame (8-3) @ #5 Southern Cal (10-1)
#12 Washington (9-2, 6-2) @ Washington State (7-4, 4-4)