By KEVIN LONNQUIST
Publisher
No. 2/2 Baylor (6-0, 3-0) created some distance in the second half and defeated West Virginia (3-3, 0-3) Saturday at McLane Stadium. The Bears are now bowl eligible for the sixth consecutive season and extended their nation’s-best FBS home winning streak to 19.
So what did the publisher think?
>I hope we’re enjoying Corey Coleman’s final year at Baylor because I think that’s where this is headed. He was 10-199 with 3 TDs to set the single-school record for TD receptions in a season with 16. Coleman – now at 877 yards – plays the position with such detail and professionalism. He has tremendous body control and the move he made for the third score early in the 3rd quarter – fake to the inside and then go down the sideline – is something not many people can do. He has the shake.
>Looks like we can breathe a sigh of relief with Andrew Billings (left ankle sprain). Initially, that made your heart jump into your throat. Art Briles said that Billings should be ready for the stretch drive. We’ll see what means but my interpretation is that Billings could sit for Iowa State and get extra time to prepare for Nov. 5 at Kansas State. With all due respect to the Cyclones, this is a game where you can afford to sit someone who is gimpy.
>Amid everything, it was a great moment to see Trevor Clemons-Valdez catch a 9-yard touchdown pass. That’s the time where you can enjoy this types of things when the game is pretty much out of reach.
>Best coaching move Art Briles made was at the end of the game when Baylor was inside the West Virginia 5-yard line and ran out the clock. There was nothing left to prove. The booing at McLane Stadium for the Bears not going for another score was a little trouble. My thinking on that is what goes around, comes around. People in the industry have long memories. If there is ever a time Baylor or Art Briles is on the other end of something like this, don’t think that won’t be forgotten. So he did a good thing. In fact, the way Briles has played out the last two games has tremendous. You’ve won the game. You’ve made your point. Time to move to the next game.
>It was a little cloggy at times. But for the most part, this team played pretty efficient. So when you finish with a ho-hum 693 yards (389 passing, 304 rushing), you just wonder where the issues are. We all know what we saw. What you have to evaluate is everything up until the starters come out of the game. Then it starts to become a time when you run around and do stuff and run out the clock.
>Seth Russell becomes the first quarterback since Robert Griffin III to rush for 100 yards (160) and throw for 300 yards (20-33-0 380 5TD) since 2011. This is what Baylor can do with Russell. This is what Baylor wants to do with Russell. Personally, I’m not a big fan of running that much. But I understand it since the Mountaineers were geared up to stop Shock Linwood. But let’s take a look at this further. As you know, I’ve never had a bad thing to say about Russell’s deep ball. I think he might have the best one of any QB that Briles has coached at Baylor. The two that stick out for are the first deep ball to Coleman that set up the first touchdown and then the 36-yard TD toss to Jay Lee in the third quarter.
>But let’s look at this a little further. I think the Mountaineers gave too much cushion on the outside. Baylor made them pay for it. So in my judgment they really didn’t test Russell on his mid-range ball between the two hash marks. Or it could have been that Baylor just took advantage of that and went to the outside (probably a little of both). That’s the ball where we still need to see Russell make his money. He didn’t have to do that today. That’s fine. But I also am a little leery because there were some series that just looked very erratic. Russell does this every game. He’ll have a series or two where everything looks completely off kilter. I know some people got upset with me on twitter about this. But I said this will not win on the road in Fort Worth or Stillwater. I think asking Russell to put it up more than 30 times is not where you want this to go – on the road. By the way, wasn’t it weird to see only four players listed who caught a pass? Admittedly, I'm probably tougher on Russell than most. He's been solid. But there's that part of me that is looking forward to seeing how responds when it's on the line. That's why I'm not throwing roses after every performance. He can get better. He knows it.
>In fairness, he hasn’t turned it over in the last two games and three of the last four. There were also a couple of drops. Also, I do not believe this will the game plan in either of those locations. I do think that Baylor will need to be even more physical than it was Saturday by pounding Shock Linwood constantly. He was fine today at 84 yards. Obviously, Russell read the defensive flow and made his decisions to keep the ball. When Baylor travels up North, Russell is going to have to be a little more disciplined with his throws. I promise you the Oklahoma State and TCU secondary units (I know TCU’s secondary has major issues but the rivalry game summons a different effort) are going to lock down on the outside and for Russell to make throws between the hash marks.
>When Briles said his team was good enough up front to play slower (OL), he just released the secret to playing an up-tempo style. The pace can hide deficiencies you may have with that front. Now, Baylor knows it can consistently win the game at the line of scrimmage and dictate how it should be played. Then again, when you have a veteran front like this team does, you should be able to do that.
>Today’s college football forces you to judge defenses differently. Look no further than the second quarter where West Virginia has three possessions that either start inside Baylor territory or move inside the Baylor 5-yard line. The Mountaineers came away with only a field goal. They had to punt on one and missed a field goal on the other. Baylor’s defense is good enough so that it can get enough stops/wins to give the offense a chance every opportunity. Now, on West Virginia’s first possession that started at the 3-yard line, I thought Dana Holgorsen’s play calling was bizarre (you have no run-pass option with your QB on 3rd and goal?), but that’s his problem.
>Outside of the blown coverage on the first touchdown, I think the secondary is really getting better. Again, you just have to keep reminding yourself that Baylor is going to play a lot of press coverage and man defense. Zone defense pretty much is not an option for Phil Bennett. So you have to live with it. I thought Ryan Reid was really good. Xavien Howard is becoming a better tackler on run support. Travon Blanchard gains more confidence by the day.
>Special teams were goofy in the fourth quarter. Yes, there were a couple of mistakes when the game mattered. But there were some good things. Drew Galitz is making you forget Spencer Roth pretty quickly.
>So it’s on to Homecoming next Saturday against Iowa State. That’s an 11:00 am kickoff. The Bears are looking to win their sixth consecutive game on that occasion. But goal No. 1 is in the books at becoming bowl eligible. I keep stressing it because you always appreciate the accomplishment. It’s the first goal for where this program eventually wants to go.
Publisher
No. 2/2 Baylor (6-0, 3-0) created some distance in the second half and defeated West Virginia (3-3, 0-3) Saturday at McLane Stadium. The Bears are now bowl eligible for the sixth consecutive season and extended their nation’s-best FBS home winning streak to 19.
So what did the publisher think?
>I hope we’re enjoying Corey Coleman’s final year at Baylor because I think that’s where this is headed. He was 10-199 with 3 TDs to set the single-school record for TD receptions in a season with 16. Coleman – now at 877 yards – plays the position with such detail and professionalism. He has tremendous body control and the move he made for the third score early in the 3rd quarter – fake to the inside and then go down the sideline – is something not many people can do. He has the shake.
>Looks like we can breathe a sigh of relief with Andrew Billings (left ankle sprain). Initially, that made your heart jump into your throat. Art Briles said that Billings should be ready for the stretch drive. We’ll see what means but my interpretation is that Billings could sit for Iowa State and get extra time to prepare for Nov. 5 at Kansas State. With all due respect to the Cyclones, this is a game where you can afford to sit someone who is gimpy.
>Amid everything, it was a great moment to see Trevor Clemons-Valdez catch a 9-yard touchdown pass. That’s the time where you can enjoy this types of things when the game is pretty much out of reach.
>Best coaching move Art Briles made was at the end of the game when Baylor was inside the West Virginia 5-yard line and ran out the clock. There was nothing left to prove. The booing at McLane Stadium for the Bears not going for another score was a little trouble. My thinking on that is what goes around, comes around. People in the industry have long memories. If there is ever a time Baylor or Art Briles is on the other end of something like this, don’t think that won’t be forgotten. So he did a good thing. In fact, the way Briles has played out the last two games has tremendous. You’ve won the game. You’ve made your point. Time to move to the next game.
>It was a little cloggy at times. But for the most part, this team played pretty efficient. So when you finish with a ho-hum 693 yards (389 passing, 304 rushing), you just wonder where the issues are. We all know what we saw. What you have to evaluate is everything up until the starters come out of the game. Then it starts to become a time when you run around and do stuff and run out the clock.
>Seth Russell becomes the first quarterback since Robert Griffin III to rush for 100 yards (160) and throw for 300 yards (20-33-0 380 5TD) since 2011. This is what Baylor can do with Russell. This is what Baylor wants to do with Russell. Personally, I’m not a big fan of running that much. But I understand it since the Mountaineers were geared up to stop Shock Linwood. But let’s take a look at this further. As you know, I’ve never had a bad thing to say about Russell’s deep ball. I think he might have the best one of any QB that Briles has coached at Baylor. The two that stick out for are the first deep ball to Coleman that set up the first touchdown and then the 36-yard TD toss to Jay Lee in the third quarter.
>But let’s look at this a little further. I think the Mountaineers gave too much cushion on the outside. Baylor made them pay for it. So in my judgment they really didn’t test Russell on his mid-range ball between the two hash marks. Or it could have been that Baylor just took advantage of that and went to the outside (probably a little of both). That’s the ball where we still need to see Russell make his money. He didn’t have to do that today. That’s fine. But I also am a little leery because there were some series that just looked very erratic. Russell does this every game. He’ll have a series or two where everything looks completely off kilter. I know some people got upset with me on twitter about this. But I said this will not win on the road in Fort Worth or Stillwater. I think asking Russell to put it up more than 30 times is not where you want this to go – on the road. By the way, wasn’t it weird to see only four players listed who caught a pass? Admittedly, I'm probably tougher on Russell than most. He's been solid. But there's that part of me that is looking forward to seeing how responds when it's on the line. That's why I'm not throwing roses after every performance. He can get better. He knows it.
>In fairness, he hasn’t turned it over in the last two games and three of the last four. There were also a couple of drops. Also, I do not believe this will the game plan in either of those locations. I do think that Baylor will need to be even more physical than it was Saturday by pounding Shock Linwood constantly. He was fine today at 84 yards. Obviously, Russell read the defensive flow and made his decisions to keep the ball. When Baylor travels up North, Russell is going to have to be a little more disciplined with his throws. I promise you the Oklahoma State and TCU secondary units (I know TCU’s secondary has major issues but the rivalry game summons a different effort) are going to lock down on the outside and for Russell to make throws between the hash marks.
>When Briles said his team was good enough up front to play slower (OL), he just released the secret to playing an up-tempo style. The pace can hide deficiencies you may have with that front. Now, Baylor knows it can consistently win the game at the line of scrimmage and dictate how it should be played. Then again, when you have a veteran front like this team does, you should be able to do that.
>Today’s college football forces you to judge defenses differently. Look no further than the second quarter where West Virginia has three possessions that either start inside Baylor territory or move inside the Baylor 5-yard line. The Mountaineers came away with only a field goal. They had to punt on one and missed a field goal on the other. Baylor’s defense is good enough so that it can get enough stops/wins to give the offense a chance every opportunity. Now, on West Virginia’s first possession that started at the 3-yard line, I thought Dana Holgorsen’s play calling was bizarre (you have no run-pass option with your QB on 3rd and goal?), but that’s his problem.
>Outside of the blown coverage on the first touchdown, I think the secondary is really getting better. Again, you just have to keep reminding yourself that Baylor is going to play a lot of press coverage and man defense. Zone defense pretty much is not an option for Phil Bennett. So you have to live with it. I thought Ryan Reid was really good. Xavien Howard is becoming a better tackler on run support. Travon Blanchard gains more confidence by the day.
>Special teams were goofy in the fourth quarter. Yes, there were a couple of mistakes when the game mattered. But there were some good things. Drew Galitz is making you forget Spencer Roth pretty quickly.
>So it’s on to Homecoming next Saturday against Iowa State. That’s an 11:00 am kickoff. The Bears are looking to win their sixth consecutive game on that occasion. But goal No. 1 is in the books at becoming bowl eligible. I keep stressing it because you always appreciate the accomplishment. It’s the first goal for where this program eventually wants to go.
