By KEVIN LONNQUIST
Publisher
Baylor, ranked No. 3/4 in the country, easily handled Kansas (0-5, 0-2 Big 12), 66-7, Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, KS. The Bears (5-0, 2-0) now return home next Saturday against West Virginia.
So what did the publisher think?
>I’m not going to go on and on about this game because this was a game where it was a total mismatch from the time the game was scheduled. Kansas just doesn’t have enough players nor enough good players to make this a game. It wasn’t. These programs are just in different places. Kansas coach David Beaty inherited a scorched roster from Charlie Weis. Art Briles program is contending for a national championship. This outcome was expected.
>Give a shout out to your publisher who predicted 66-10 as the final. Now, if the Jayhawks could have just….
>The best thing about this game was the way Baylor played the second half. The starters were done after the first. The defensive first team got a series for the sake of reps and then called it an afternoon. This was a businesslike approach. The Bears got their work in with second and third teamers, scored a couple of touchdowns and moved on. There was nothing to prove by laying it on further. Plus, David Beaty is a part of the Texas high school coaching fraternity. So I’m sure Art Briles can appreciate where Beaty is at. Probably a respect factor. I think Briles played this much like he did with SMU and Chad Morris. Beaty and Morris made the climb Briles did.
>Shock Linwood’s march toward breaking Walter Abercrombie’s career rushing record continues. He finished with 135. He has 719 for the season. Linwood is now 814 yards shy and needs to average 116.1 yards over the last seven games in order to break it.
>The Seth Russell-to-Corey Coleman combination could turn into the most prolific in Baylor history. Russell has thrown 21 touchdown passes this year, 13 of those to Coleman. Now, if Coleman returns for his senior season, there’s no telling where this thing may end up. But the two could make historic gains this year. We’ll just have to see. Russell finished 18-27-0 for 246 yards and three scores. Coleman (7-108, 2 TD) with just another day at the office. I think we’re all getting spoiled by that. Did it really feel like Baylor had 644 yards of total offense?
>I really won’t get into anything specific about anyone else with the offense just because this thing was so out of hand so quickly. This was kind of like a spring training game where everybody got their work in and got out of there.
>After the first Kansas possession where the Jayhawks scored, Baylor’s defense pretty much dominated every facet. Kansas collected 74 yards on its scoring possession and then 153 the rest of the way. Of course, this was a personnel difference. But then again, Baylor did what it was supposed to.
>The next time you watch nose tackle Andrew Billings, watch his feet. They are really quick. When you combine that along with his upper body strength, that’s what enables him to throw blockers aside and control the flow of the offensive line and where it wants to shift. He’s a problem for every offense that faces Baylor. I promise you that every offensive coordinator in the Big 12 that begins to prepare for Baylor’s defense starts with how it wants to deal with Billings.
>Really good game by Xavien Howard who had the two turnovers, his team-leading third interception of the season and the 30-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Baylor forced three turnovers.
>Chance Waz continues to grow at safety. In fact, I thought both he and Orion Stewart and NB Travon Blanchard had really good games in run support. They played pretty disciplined. Stayed in lanes and made good form tackles.
>I guess it's always kind of interesting to see Laquan McGowan score. He was actually pretty nimble on his 18-yard TD reception. That play is pretty close (maybe it's the same play) that Baylor used against Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl. The irony? Both plays covered the same distance.
>Quality reps by backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham who played the entire second half. He has as many touchdown passes (4) as he does incompletions (4). What does it mean? Well, he has a good grasp of the offense for where he’s at and how he’s used. But by this growth, I wouldn’t have a problem with him running the offense if Russell was lost to injury. I’ve said this before, but I have to think that’s part of the reason why Baylor plays the non-conference schedule that it does. Briles wants to get into these games so untested backups get reps so their heads won’t be one swivel should they be needed during the conference season. But let’s save the non-conference schedule argument for another day.
>And you don’t have Baylor penalties to complain about either. How about 4-33? Who are these guys and what have they done with the Baylor football team? That's probably because this whole thing was on auto pilot. But still....
>Nobody really hurt that I could tell.
>What did we learn from this? We learned that Baylor took of things quickly, acted like a program that understood it had a job to do and took another step forward. When they meet West Virginia next week, the Bears will be seeking bowl eligibility for the sixth consecutive season. Now, that may not mean very much. But when you are program that continues to seek new heights, you never forget where you came from because it took so long to get there. You always appreciate the journey.
Publisher
Baylor, ranked No. 3/4 in the country, easily handled Kansas (0-5, 0-2 Big 12), 66-7, Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, KS. The Bears (5-0, 2-0) now return home next Saturday against West Virginia.
So what did the publisher think?
>I’m not going to go on and on about this game because this was a game where it was a total mismatch from the time the game was scheduled. Kansas just doesn’t have enough players nor enough good players to make this a game. It wasn’t. These programs are just in different places. Kansas coach David Beaty inherited a scorched roster from Charlie Weis. Art Briles program is contending for a national championship. This outcome was expected.
>Give a shout out to your publisher who predicted 66-10 as the final. Now, if the Jayhawks could have just….
>The best thing about this game was the way Baylor played the second half. The starters were done after the first. The defensive first team got a series for the sake of reps and then called it an afternoon. This was a businesslike approach. The Bears got their work in with second and third teamers, scored a couple of touchdowns and moved on. There was nothing to prove by laying it on further. Plus, David Beaty is a part of the Texas high school coaching fraternity. So I’m sure Art Briles can appreciate where Beaty is at. Probably a respect factor. I think Briles played this much like he did with SMU and Chad Morris. Beaty and Morris made the climb Briles did.
>Shock Linwood’s march toward breaking Walter Abercrombie’s career rushing record continues. He finished with 135. He has 719 for the season. Linwood is now 814 yards shy and needs to average 116.1 yards over the last seven games in order to break it.
>The Seth Russell-to-Corey Coleman combination could turn into the most prolific in Baylor history. Russell has thrown 21 touchdown passes this year, 13 of those to Coleman. Now, if Coleman returns for his senior season, there’s no telling where this thing may end up. But the two could make historic gains this year. We’ll just have to see. Russell finished 18-27-0 for 246 yards and three scores. Coleman (7-108, 2 TD) with just another day at the office. I think we’re all getting spoiled by that. Did it really feel like Baylor had 644 yards of total offense?
>I really won’t get into anything specific about anyone else with the offense just because this thing was so out of hand so quickly. This was kind of like a spring training game where everybody got their work in and got out of there.
>After the first Kansas possession where the Jayhawks scored, Baylor’s defense pretty much dominated every facet. Kansas collected 74 yards on its scoring possession and then 153 the rest of the way. Of course, this was a personnel difference. But then again, Baylor did what it was supposed to.
>The next time you watch nose tackle Andrew Billings, watch his feet. They are really quick. When you combine that along with his upper body strength, that’s what enables him to throw blockers aside and control the flow of the offensive line and where it wants to shift. He’s a problem for every offense that faces Baylor. I promise you that every offensive coordinator in the Big 12 that begins to prepare for Baylor’s defense starts with how it wants to deal with Billings.
>Really good game by Xavien Howard who had the two turnovers, his team-leading third interception of the season and the 30-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Baylor forced three turnovers.
>Chance Waz continues to grow at safety. In fact, I thought both he and Orion Stewart and NB Travon Blanchard had really good games in run support. They played pretty disciplined. Stayed in lanes and made good form tackles.
>I guess it's always kind of interesting to see Laquan McGowan score. He was actually pretty nimble on his 18-yard TD reception. That play is pretty close (maybe it's the same play) that Baylor used against Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl. The irony? Both plays covered the same distance.
>Quality reps by backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham who played the entire second half. He has as many touchdown passes (4) as he does incompletions (4). What does it mean? Well, he has a good grasp of the offense for where he’s at and how he’s used. But by this growth, I wouldn’t have a problem with him running the offense if Russell was lost to injury. I’ve said this before, but I have to think that’s part of the reason why Baylor plays the non-conference schedule that it does. Briles wants to get into these games so untested backups get reps so their heads won’t be one swivel should they be needed during the conference season. But let’s save the non-conference schedule argument for another day.
>And you don’t have Baylor penalties to complain about either. How about 4-33? Who are these guys and what have they done with the Baylor football team? That's probably because this whole thing was on auto pilot. But still....
>Nobody really hurt that I could tell.
>What did we learn from this? We learned that Baylor took of things quickly, acted like a program that understood it had a job to do and took another step forward. When they meet West Virginia next week, the Bears will be seeking bowl eligibility for the sixth consecutive season. Now, that may not mean very much. But when you are program that continues to seek new heights, you never forget where you came from because it took so long to get there. You always appreciate the journey.
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