By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Baylor’s hopes of playing in the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 3 came to an end on Saturday night with a 31-3 drubbing by No. 13 Kansas State.
The Bears never tied or led in this game. The closest they came was John Mayers 37-yard field goal on the last play of the first half to cut the Wildcats lead to 17-3.
At 6-4, 4-3, there is one more home game to play against No. 4 TCU. The Horned Frogs clinched a spot into the Big 12 title game with their 17-10 win Saturday night at Texas.
The Bears play host to the Horned Frogs at 11:00 a.m. Saturday at McLane Stadium. FOX will carry the game.
SicEmSports provides reflections, observations and three Golden Bears from this one.
Upon Reflection
Jane Craig: How’d it go?
Aaron Altman: You didn’t see or talk to anyone?
Jane Craig: No
Aaron Altman: Well, then it went very well.
Jane Craig: Do you feel good about it?
Aaron Altman: No
Jane Craig: Do others think you did well?
Aaron Altman: No
This exchange was from the 1987 movie Broadcast News when Jane visits Aaron at his house after she finishes up at a national correspondence dinner. Aaron pinch hit doing the national Saturday evening news which turned into a total disaster. He broke out into a case of flop sweat that culminated in a crew member bumping into the national globe positioned behind the desk causing it to sway back and forth. Then someone’s hand was caught live on screen holding the globe to stop the swaying.
I kept wondering how I was going to present this piece on the drive back from Waco last night. I had two thoughts, this above scene and that this was just a tail kicking the Bears received.
There’s no way to spin this. This was probably as bad as the 2020 season/home finale against Oklahoma State. Maybe worse because at least that team was missing about 30 players because of COVID issues and injuries.
Few to none should be surprised that Kansas State won this game. What is surprising is how much the Wildcats dominated, even in the opening possession that ended in a Baylor sack.
When I asked Dillon Doyle about Baylor not responding to Kansas State’s 97-yard scoring drive following the interception, he offered a circular answer. I kind of get that. This team probably still doesn’t know what happened to it.
They were outplayed, outcoached and played right into Kansas State’s hands. Wildcat run blitzes neutralized the running game. This passing game, which has been wobbly since Kansas, was worse. Consider that 91 of Shapen’s 203 yards came in the fourth quarter long after this was over, and the Wildcats were just trying to run out the clock.
Plus, Baylor got a taste of its own medicine. It dominated time of possession the previous three games. It got Baylor’d. Kansas State possessed the ball for 37:37. Baylor 22:23.
For many reasons, most thought this team had righted everything following the stunning loss at West Virginia. While this home stretch against Kansas State, TCU and Texas was daunting, it appeared doable.
Now, that the title game hopes are gone, what will be noteworthy to track is how the Bears respond in these two rivalry games with the Horned Frogs and the Longhorns.
Passing game problems
If you’ll recall in the Buying and Selling piece following Oklahoma, I mentioned the passing game as a sell.
Coincidence or not, Blake Shapen’s issues started following the concussion vs. West Virginia. But since that game, this part of the offense has been erratic to poor ever since then.
Shapen returned to practice the week of Kansas and had two extra days of recovery. Obviously, his turnover problems started before Kansas. But in these last six games – starting with Oklahoma State - he has 10, seven interceptions and three fumbles. And you can mix in several tipped passes at the line of scrimmage that could have been picked off.
His completion percentage has been going down over the last four: 65.3 vs. Kansas, 63.3 at Texas Tech, 60.9 at Oklahoma, 57.9 vs. Kansas State. No touchdown passes the last two games. Receivers are dropping the ball. Passes that are hitting receivers in the helmet or shoulder pads signal the timing is off and the routes aren’t being run well. They also can’t get separation.
Shapen just looks uncomfortable. He doesn’t set his feet, which leads to mechanical issues.
When Baylor chose him as the starting QB following spring football, I had no problem with it. It’s just come apart. It may have to go into the offseason to fix it. It’s going to take a complete overhaul.
But if I was Austin Novosad sitting in the stands Saturday night watching this, I’m thinking to myself that I can compete for this job when I arrive in January.
The stunning number
Kansas State won this game without recording a sack or QB hurry.
Did you notice?
When Mayers field goal cleared the upright, there were still about two seconds on the clock. It should have stopped. But the timekeeper did everyone a kindness by being slow with the finger to stop. Clock ran out. Officials didn’t catch it. Half over.
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 31-3 home loss to Kansas State.
Note: This was really hard. I’m only doing two.
Monaray Baldwin, WR, Soph.: Well, the good news is that he is all the way back from his hamstring issue that caused him to miss Texas Tech and be limited against Oklahoma State. Of course, 46 of his 75 yards came in the fourth quarter. Someone had to emerge since Gavin Holmes played but was never even targeted.
Notable – Receiving: 8-75
Al Walcott, Star, Sr.: He’s taken his share of criticism throughout the season. It’s can be an impossible assignment when you’re the one following the star. That’s what he walked into when he followed Jalen Pitre. But Walcott played pretty well and had a couple of nice plays behind the line of scrimmage. He led all Bear defenders in tackles.
Notable: 7 solo tackles, 4 assisted tackles, 2 TFL
Publisher
Baylor’s hopes of playing in the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 3 came to an end on Saturday night with a 31-3 drubbing by No. 13 Kansas State.
The Bears never tied or led in this game. The closest they came was John Mayers 37-yard field goal on the last play of the first half to cut the Wildcats lead to 17-3.
At 6-4, 4-3, there is one more home game to play against No. 4 TCU. The Horned Frogs clinched a spot into the Big 12 title game with their 17-10 win Saturday night at Texas.
The Bears play host to the Horned Frogs at 11:00 a.m. Saturday at McLane Stadium. FOX will carry the game.
SicEmSports provides reflections, observations and three Golden Bears from this one.
Upon Reflection
Jane Craig: How’d it go?
Aaron Altman: You didn’t see or talk to anyone?
Jane Craig: No
Aaron Altman: Well, then it went very well.
Jane Craig: Do you feel good about it?
Aaron Altman: No
Jane Craig: Do others think you did well?
Aaron Altman: No
This exchange was from the 1987 movie Broadcast News when Jane visits Aaron at his house after she finishes up at a national correspondence dinner. Aaron pinch hit doing the national Saturday evening news which turned into a total disaster. He broke out into a case of flop sweat that culminated in a crew member bumping into the national globe positioned behind the desk causing it to sway back and forth. Then someone’s hand was caught live on screen holding the globe to stop the swaying.
I kept wondering how I was going to present this piece on the drive back from Waco last night. I had two thoughts, this above scene and that this was just a tail kicking the Bears received.
There’s no way to spin this. This was probably as bad as the 2020 season/home finale against Oklahoma State. Maybe worse because at least that team was missing about 30 players because of COVID issues and injuries.
Few to none should be surprised that Kansas State won this game. What is surprising is how much the Wildcats dominated, even in the opening possession that ended in a Baylor sack.
When I asked Dillon Doyle about Baylor not responding to Kansas State’s 97-yard scoring drive following the interception, he offered a circular answer. I kind of get that. This team probably still doesn’t know what happened to it.
They were outplayed, outcoached and played right into Kansas State’s hands. Wildcat run blitzes neutralized the running game. This passing game, which has been wobbly since Kansas, was worse. Consider that 91 of Shapen’s 203 yards came in the fourth quarter long after this was over, and the Wildcats were just trying to run out the clock.
Plus, Baylor got a taste of its own medicine. It dominated time of possession the previous three games. It got Baylor’d. Kansas State possessed the ball for 37:37. Baylor 22:23.
For many reasons, most thought this team had righted everything following the stunning loss at West Virginia. While this home stretch against Kansas State, TCU and Texas was daunting, it appeared doable.
Now, that the title game hopes are gone, what will be noteworthy to track is how the Bears respond in these two rivalry games with the Horned Frogs and the Longhorns.
Passing game problems
If you’ll recall in the Buying and Selling piece following Oklahoma, I mentioned the passing game as a sell.
Coincidence or not, Blake Shapen’s issues started following the concussion vs. West Virginia. But since that game, this part of the offense has been erratic to poor ever since then.
Shapen returned to practice the week of Kansas and had two extra days of recovery. Obviously, his turnover problems started before Kansas. But in these last six games – starting with Oklahoma State - he has 10, seven interceptions and three fumbles. And you can mix in several tipped passes at the line of scrimmage that could have been picked off.
His completion percentage has been going down over the last four: 65.3 vs. Kansas, 63.3 at Texas Tech, 60.9 at Oklahoma, 57.9 vs. Kansas State. No touchdown passes the last two games. Receivers are dropping the ball. Passes that are hitting receivers in the helmet or shoulder pads signal the timing is off and the routes aren’t being run well. They also can’t get separation.
Shapen just looks uncomfortable. He doesn’t set his feet, which leads to mechanical issues.
When Baylor chose him as the starting QB following spring football, I had no problem with it. It’s just come apart. It may have to go into the offseason to fix it. It’s going to take a complete overhaul.
But if I was Austin Novosad sitting in the stands Saturday night watching this, I’m thinking to myself that I can compete for this job when I arrive in January.
The stunning number
Kansas State won this game without recording a sack or QB hurry.
Did you notice?
When Mayers field goal cleared the upright, there were still about two seconds on the clock. It should have stopped. But the timekeeper did everyone a kindness by being slow with the finger to stop. Clock ran out. Officials didn’t catch it. Half over.
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 31-3 home loss to Kansas State.
Note: This was really hard. I’m only doing two.
Monaray Baldwin, WR, Soph.: Well, the good news is that he is all the way back from his hamstring issue that caused him to miss Texas Tech and be limited against Oklahoma State. Of course, 46 of his 75 yards came in the fourth quarter. Someone had to emerge since Gavin Holmes played but was never even targeted.
Notable – Receiving: 8-75
Al Walcott, Star, Sr.: He’s taken his share of criticism throughout the season. It’s can be an impossible assignment when you’re the one following the star. That’s what he walked into when he followed Jalen Pitre. But Walcott played pretty well and had a couple of nice plays behind the line of scrimmage. He led all Bear defenders in tackles.
Notable: 7 solo tackles, 4 assisted tackles, 2 TFL
