By KEVIN LONNQUIST
Publisher
No. 4 Baylor advanced to 2-0 with a 66-31 victory over FCS Lamar in the 2015 home opener so let’s take a look at this one.
>Ok, so when you’re an elite Division I player and you’re getting ready to play an opponent you know you’re going to run off, your focus is probably not where you’d like it to be. I get that. I really do. Lamar is not Oklahoma. The Cardinals won’t get your attention. But that’s the time where you have to focus on yourself and be diligent and pay attention to detail. If you felt like Baylor did that in this guarantee game, then great. If you know what you saw, then you know this team did not perform like the No. 4 team in the country. Penalties (12-93) and four turnovers from the starting quarterback are things that really should not happen.
But what we saw Saturday in McLane Stadium is just not acceptable. Baylor preaches “Be the Standard”. This was far from it. I really wanted to see a team that was locked in and ready to go. Then it finishes, 66-31. And there’s a rock in my stomach wondering why this happened.
I’m really trying not to kneejerk about this game. But it’s hard not to when you’re watching something where 97 points were scored and the opponent scored nearly one-third of them. Does anyone feel good about this?
It almost feels like the 785 yards that Baylor accumulated – Corey Coleman (6-182 4TD), Jay Lee (9-111), Shock Linwood (18-130 3TD), Terence Williams (14-121) and Johnny Jefferson (12-121) – had that “yeah but” feel to it. Sure, when you’re chewing up bunch of yards against an FCS team, that’s expected. This offense is so potent it could accidentally collect 400 yards in a game.
However, the Bears have got to stop playing reckless, careless and undisciplined football. That starts with Seth Russell and it carries over to a defense – short field or not because surrendering points is what it’s all about – that doesn’t give the appearance that much has changed through two games against far inferior opponents. If we continue to see things like this – and that’s a big if – this season will not end the way everybody wants it to end. There’s time to remedy this. There are two weeks before Rice. And there’s no doubt that teams should be playing far better in November than how they are playing in September. The Big 12 season will get their attention. When the talent level rises, so should Baylor’s.
That said, the red flags are out there.
>The big one is Russell. He basically was the best offensive player for Lamar since he pretty much giftwrapped 17 points to the Cardinals. A lost fumble and three interceptions led to point blank scoring opportunities. Good thing this was Lamar. Even Art Briles basically said after the game that Russell needs to be more intelligent and tone down the fearlessness.
I have written repeatedly (until you roll your eyes in frustration) that Russell is going to be the player that makes you say “How did he do that?” to the player that makes you say, “Why did he do that?” We saw plenty of that. He and Corey Coleman will be a great combination to watch during the season. But this game is always about turnovers. He turns it over twice or more against any of those first division Big 12 defenses, he’s putting Baylor in a precarious position. Russell also didn’t finish this game well missing his last four attempts. So 23-30 at one point finished 23-34. The mid-range ball was meh again I thought. Maybe the method to all of this madness is that Briles purposely wants a softer September schedule so he can break in his new quarterbacks. That way, they can grow and Baylor can still collect wins. The key for Russell this year is to keep the interception total at about 10-12. He’s already at four. The Bears were also 3-of-11 on third down. Yuck!
>I love the play distribution with 56 rushing attempts to 38 passing attempts. This is the Baylor offense I’ve come to know and appreciate. When Baylor’s rushing attack is physically wearing on people, it just changes everything. This is how the Baylor’s offense thrived with Briles and Philip Montgomery. It’s my hope that when Kendal Briles was watching this game (remember, he couldn’t be at the stadium to even watch it) he took note of this. When Baylor fires off scoring drives where every play is a rushing attempt, it’s a thing of beauty. You could count on that in each game in previous seasons. Maybe Jeff Lebby was biased because he coaches the running backs. But the backbone to Baylor’s offense is its running game. It always has been. It always will be.
>Speaking of Lee, if anyone needed to feel even better about himself, it was him. A really solid effort. Briles pretty much called him out during the week. There’s a good reason for that. Lee has been one of the more mercurial receivers to ever come through this program. Baylor needs his senior leadership to be there. Now, it has to move forward.
>Although I was critical earlier, I’m going to give Phil Bennett’s defensive crew a bit of a break because the turnovers really backed up this group. Lamar finished with 340 total yards. That’s not terrible. And when you’re being asked to defend a short field, that can be all or nothing. Yes, the 31 points can be a bit misleading. But it all counts. I just want to see what this group does against Rice in two weeks. The Owls put up in 462 yards against Texas. That probably would have been a better game if the Owls don’t commit five turnovers.
>I do think these next two weeks are going to be interesting to watch. When coaches say they want to use the off week to work on themselves, you really hope that’s true. The Bears are really talented but can be really frustrating to watch.
So you’re probably asking yourself how can a guy who has seen Baylor score 122 points and collect in excess of 1,500 yards be disappointed? Well, this is season isn’t about September. It’s also not about October. This season is all about Nov. 5-Dec. 5. Like I said earlier, the Baylor we then could make this one unrecognizable.
At least, I hope that’s what we’re going to be watching.
Publisher
No. 4 Baylor advanced to 2-0 with a 66-31 victory over FCS Lamar in the 2015 home opener so let’s take a look at this one.
>Ok, so when you’re an elite Division I player and you’re getting ready to play an opponent you know you’re going to run off, your focus is probably not where you’d like it to be. I get that. I really do. Lamar is not Oklahoma. The Cardinals won’t get your attention. But that’s the time where you have to focus on yourself and be diligent and pay attention to detail. If you felt like Baylor did that in this guarantee game, then great. If you know what you saw, then you know this team did not perform like the No. 4 team in the country. Penalties (12-93) and four turnovers from the starting quarterback are things that really should not happen.
But what we saw Saturday in McLane Stadium is just not acceptable. Baylor preaches “Be the Standard”. This was far from it. I really wanted to see a team that was locked in and ready to go. Then it finishes, 66-31. And there’s a rock in my stomach wondering why this happened.
I’m really trying not to kneejerk about this game. But it’s hard not to when you’re watching something where 97 points were scored and the opponent scored nearly one-third of them. Does anyone feel good about this?
It almost feels like the 785 yards that Baylor accumulated – Corey Coleman (6-182 4TD), Jay Lee (9-111), Shock Linwood (18-130 3TD), Terence Williams (14-121) and Johnny Jefferson (12-121) – had that “yeah but” feel to it. Sure, when you’re chewing up bunch of yards against an FCS team, that’s expected. This offense is so potent it could accidentally collect 400 yards in a game.
However, the Bears have got to stop playing reckless, careless and undisciplined football. That starts with Seth Russell and it carries over to a defense – short field or not because surrendering points is what it’s all about – that doesn’t give the appearance that much has changed through two games against far inferior opponents. If we continue to see things like this – and that’s a big if – this season will not end the way everybody wants it to end. There’s time to remedy this. There are two weeks before Rice. And there’s no doubt that teams should be playing far better in November than how they are playing in September. The Big 12 season will get their attention. When the talent level rises, so should Baylor’s.
That said, the red flags are out there.
>The big one is Russell. He basically was the best offensive player for Lamar since he pretty much giftwrapped 17 points to the Cardinals. A lost fumble and three interceptions led to point blank scoring opportunities. Good thing this was Lamar. Even Art Briles basically said after the game that Russell needs to be more intelligent and tone down the fearlessness.
I have written repeatedly (until you roll your eyes in frustration) that Russell is going to be the player that makes you say “How did he do that?” to the player that makes you say, “Why did he do that?” We saw plenty of that. He and Corey Coleman will be a great combination to watch during the season. But this game is always about turnovers. He turns it over twice or more against any of those first division Big 12 defenses, he’s putting Baylor in a precarious position. Russell also didn’t finish this game well missing his last four attempts. So 23-30 at one point finished 23-34. The mid-range ball was meh again I thought. Maybe the method to all of this madness is that Briles purposely wants a softer September schedule so he can break in his new quarterbacks. That way, they can grow and Baylor can still collect wins. The key for Russell this year is to keep the interception total at about 10-12. He’s already at four. The Bears were also 3-of-11 on third down. Yuck!
>I love the play distribution with 56 rushing attempts to 38 passing attempts. This is the Baylor offense I’ve come to know and appreciate. When Baylor’s rushing attack is physically wearing on people, it just changes everything. This is how the Baylor’s offense thrived with Briles and Philip Montgomery. It’s my hope that when Kendal Briles was watching this game (remember, he couldn’t be at the stadium to even watch it) he took note of this. When Baylor fires off scoring drives where every play is a rushing attempt, it’s a thing of beauty. You could count on that in each game in previous seasons. Maybe Jeff Lebby was biased because he coaches the running backs. But the backbone to Baylor’s offense is its running game. It always has been. It always will be.
>Speaking of Lee, if anyone needed to feel even better about himself, it was him. A really solid effort. Briles pretty much called him out during the week. There’s a good reason for that. Lee has been one of the more mercurial receivers to ever come through this program. Baylor needs his senior leadership to be there. Now, it has to move forward.
>Although I was critical earlier, I’m going to give Phil Bennett’s defensive crew a bit of a break because the turnovers really backed up this group. Lamar finished with 340 total yards. That’s not terrible. And when you’re being asked to defend a short field, that can be all or nothing. Yes, the 31 points can be a bit misleading. But it all counts. I just want to see what this group does against Rice in two weeks. The Owls put up in 462 yards against Texas. That probably would have been a better game if the Owls don’t commit five turnovers.
>I do think these next two weeks are going to be interesting to watch. When coaches say they want to use the off week to work on themselves, you really hope that’s true. The Bears are really talented but can be really frustrating to watch.
So you’re probably asking yourself how can a guy who has seen Baylor score 122 points and collect in excess of 1,500 yards be disappointed? Well, this is season isn’t about September. It’s also not about October. This season is all about Nov. 5-Dec. 5. Like I said earlier, the Baylor we then could make this one unrecognizable.
At least, I hope that’s what we’re going to be watching.
