By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Welcome to another edition of Single Digit Flashback. Playing off Baylor’s popular tradition of awarding numbers 0-9 to those deserving players who have become leaders on the team, we have our 10 thoughts about anything that is related to Baylor and may not be related to Baylor.
It’s been a question that’s been on the minds of many heavy metal Rock and Roll followers for years. Now, the RJB has the answer.
Why is the British heavy metal band Judas Priest called Judas Priest? Really, you have a guy named Judas who we all remember committed the greatest sin this side of Adam and Eve biting into the apple. Then you have priest which is a name for a man of the cloth.
But the history of it is that Judas Priest was called that from a Bob Dylan song, “The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest”. That was in 1968 when the band was formed. The Dylan song goes back to how this Priest betrayed Frankie Lee and eventually led to his demise.
Long story. But anyway, Judas Priest’s most noteworthy release arrived in the United States in 1982 “You’ve got another thing comin’”. It went on to finish in the 60s in the Billboard Charts.
This group has gone through so much turnover.
We can assure you that this song and last week’s submission – AC/DC’s Hells Bells – have never been played in Mar Gen’s church for his congregation.
Or have they?
>0. Want to give everyone a head’s up for this coming weekend for coverage of Baylor at Oklahoma State. Mrs. Razorback and I will be driving to Tuscaloosa Thursday to see our Crimson Tide. We haven’t seen her since she left Aug. 1 so we’re going to make our own Parents Weekend. We also have tickets for the Crimson Tide vs. Ole Miss. You can’t argue an SEC game with the great undertones of Lane Kiffin coming back to face Nick Saban.
This weekend worked out because Aledo has its bye and with Baylor being on the road, it’s a little less hectic than when the Bears play at McLane. Besides, Baylor is in McLane throughout October with West Virginia, BYU and Texas. I’ve already made coverage plans so you will be taken care of this weekend. Don’t worry about that. My Golden Bear performances story likely will be on Monday or late Sunday depending on when we return from that 600-mile drive. It’s likely there won’t be a single digits next week just because of the travel.
Thanks in advance.
>1. When you work hard, you’ll get rewarded. Baylor changed its national perception after it defeated Iowa State, 31-29. The Bears are now ranked, No. 21 in the AP and No. 24 in the Coaches Poll. When the polls came out last week after Baylor finished off Kansas, 45-7, here is the number of votes they received by the polls: 0 in the AP, 13 in the coaches. The Bears beat a team that started off the season in the Top 10 and had a great reputation. Baylor’s victory and rankings are as a result of what they did to that program. It was an upset. Rankings are subjective as we know. The reasoning and legitimacy of polls can be questioned and rightfully so. But when you’re in them, the biggest complaints you may have are that you’re either too low or too high. First World problems.
>2. Here’s what I think of Iowa State. While this is a week-to-week sport and anything can happen at any time, I didn’t think that much of the Cyclones. Their media hype far exceeded who they really are. They’re a solid team. They’re not a great team. I could see them losing 2-3 more games. Their defense is pretty solid especially in the way they closed the door on Baylor’s offense in the second half. What I don’t like is quarterback Brock Purdy. He just makes the wrong mistake at the wrong time. Now, the tipped interception early in the fourth quarter is a bad break for him. And yes, he led them on what could have been the game-tying drive. But when I look at him, I don’t come away with the impression he’s going to be a handful to deal with. I really think Iowa State’s offense rises and falls on running back Breece Hall. If he’s right, the Cyclones are pretty good. If he’s held in check, I don’t think Purdy gets you to the promised land.
>3. Whether you agreed with any of the penalties called on Baylor or not, it really doesn’t matter. They were called. And this is a problem for Dave Aranda’s program. There were nine flags for 100 yards. Through four games, they’ve been whistled 28 times for 286 yards. That’s seven flags per game. That’s nearly 72 yards per game where the umpire picks up the ball and walks it in Baylor’s direction. They appeared to clean it up with Texas Southern and were OK at Kansas. But you can’t keep stepping in it especially as conference play is in full swing and the stakes are that much higher. They’re going to get burned. And in some respect, they should fee a little fortunate they won because of all of those flags.
>4. No one asked Aranda this in the presser about Baylor’s final offensive possession that led to the Isaiah Hankins’ 34-yard field goal. Trestan Ebner’s 41-yard punt return put the ball at the Cyclone’ 16.
This was the sequence:
1st down: Abram Smith 1 rush to the 15
2nd down: Gerry Bohanon loses two back to the 17
3rd down: Craig Williams for no gain at the 17
4th down: Hankins field goal
Indeed, this was a possession where offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes took the ball out of Bohanon’s hands and didn’t want him to “lose the game”. Very conservative. Don’t blow it in the red zone with a costly mistake. If we pop a run, great. But let’s make sure that we get three and force Iowa State to score and go for two.
Obviously, if Baylor scores a touchdown, it’s a two-score game and it’s probably over. But your offense was really struggling in this half. Bohanon had been getting beat up. I understand the conservative thinking. I would have tried one shot into the end zone on a play that either someone or no one was going to catch it. I don’t understand the decision to use Williams there unless Smith or Ebner was banged up and I missed it.
However, I think this is going to be a case of how Grimes deals with Bohanon for at least the next several weeks. This is still a nurturing process. The biggest thing Grimes has to do is make sure his quarterback continues to grow. There’s the flipside argument of letting him make a mistake. Maybe you do that if you’re tailing Iowa State by 10 in the fourth quarter. But if you have the lead, you play it differently.
>5. How conservative was Grimes with Bohanon in the second half? The junior from Earle (AR) was just 3-6-0 for 18 yards. In the first half, Bohanon was 11-13-0 for 146 yards and two scores. Again, give credit to what Iowa State did defensively in the second half. As Aranda said, “They were able to get some run throughs on the back side of our wide zone. They started giving pressure on the back side and that was clogging up that linebacker area. So guys started bouncing it outside. It just wasn’t the openings that we wanted. And so we had to work our combos more efficiently back there.’’ Well, they didn’t get any of them to work.
>6. What’s going to be interesting is what Oklahoma State’s defensive coaches take from the film from this game against a quality opponent and how they’re going to attack Bohanon and this offense. Are they going to create a coverage pattern to where Bohanon’s passing strength on the boots is limited or eliminated? When Bohanon tried to throw straight up from the pocket in the second half, there were some issues. Go back to the second half passing stats.
But Oklahoma State has what many consider one of the best defenses Mike Gundy has fielded. Like Iowa State, the Cowboys don’t allow much on the ground, just 2.6 yards per carry. They have surrendered 224 passing yards. But they also have collected 13 sacks including one that was a strip sack fumble touchdown against Kansas State on Saturday.
>7. I left Baylor’s offensive approach to Iowa State a little hmmm. The Bears definitely wanted to mix it up in the first half. They ran 27 plays, 14 rushing, 13 passing. But I just never felt like they established the running attack, which is what they have preached that they want to be. We could see the same approach in Stillwater, OK like we did Saturday against Iowa State. Does Baylor somewhat concede the running game or does it want to try and take it on the road and be more physical? I’m always of the mindset that a good running game can be the great equalizer to a hostile opposing home crowd and the opposing team. What this really comes down to is whether Grimes and offensive line coach Eric Mateos saw enough on the film from Iowa State and felt encouraged by it enough to determine if they think this group can take that next step.
>8. The Cowboys are a flaky team. They sometimes look ragged. They sometimes look really polished. I don’t know what to think of quarterback Spencer Sanders. He’s really talented but erratic. He’s thrown for 200 yards a game. He’s also only completing 58 percent of his passes. Now, he’s had to deal with some injuries with his wide receivers. But I don’t think he’s excelled to the point where you can point to him as a game changer. He’s not as good a Purdy and you already know what I think of Purdy.
>9. Speaking of QBs, we’re getting some really meh play from that position in the Big 12. Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler has been underwhelming. Kansas State lost Skylar Thompson and now has issues. TCU’s Max Duggan is nothing special. Texas already shelved the Hudson Card experiment and is going with Casey Thompson who has looked good against Rice and Texas Tech. But it’s Rice and Texas Tech. Tech’s Tyler Shough broke his collar bone and is reportedly out six weeks. The Red Raiders had to turn to Henri Colombi who was a revolving door starter in 2020. Kansas is Kansas. Jarret Doege is just OK at West Virginia but he couldn’t pull off the upset in Norman, OK Saturday when it was sitting right there. Of course, I’ve talked about Purdy and Sanders. To be honest, we still need to see more of Bohanon. You couldn’t argue with the first half. He looked the part of a dual threat. The second half was brutal. But you can rest knowing that the reputation of the Big 12 has gone from being one that’s an aerial circus no defense league to one where defenses are dictating how the game is to be played. We have two months to see if that narrative plays to that.
Let’s make it a great week.
Publisher
Welcome to another edition of Single Digit Flashback. Playing off Baylor’s popular tradition of awarding numbers 0-9 to those deserving players who have become leaders on the team, we have our 10 thoughts about anything that is related to Baylor and may not be related to Baylor.
It’s been a question that’s been on the minds of many heavy metal Rock and Roll followers for years. Now, the RJB has the answer.
Why is the British heavy metal band Judas Priest called Judas Priest? Really, you have a guy named Judas who we all remember committed the greatest sin this side of Adam and Eve biting into the apple. Then you have priest which is a name for a man of the cloth.
But the history of it is that Judas Priest was called that from a Bob Dylan song, “The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest”. That was in 1968 when the band was formed. The Dylan song goes back to how this Priest betrayed Frankie Lee and eventually led to his demise.
Long story. But anyway, Judas Priest’s most noteworthy release arrived in the United States in 1982 “You’ve got another thing comin’”. It went on to finish in the 60s in the Billboard Charts.
This group has gone through so much turnover.
We can assure you that this song and last week’s submission – AC/DC’s Hells Bells – have never been played in Mar Gen’s church for his congregation.
Or have they?
>0. Want to give everyone a head’s up for this coming weekend for coverage of Baylor at Oklahoma State. Mrs. Razorback and I will be driving to Tuscaloosa Thursday to see our Crimson Tide. We haven’t seen her since she left Aug. 1 so we’re going to make our own Parents Weekend. We also have tickets for the Crimson Tide vs. Ole Miss. You can’t argue an SEC game with the great undertones of Lane Kiffin coming back to face Nick Saban.
This weekend worked out because Aledo has its bye and with Baylor being on the road, it’s a little less hectic than when the Bears play at McLane. Besides, Baylor is in McLane throughout October with West Virginia, BYU and Texas. I’ve already made coverage plans so you will be taken care of this weekend. Don’t worry about that. My Golden Bear performances story likely will be on Monday or late Sunday depending on when we return from that 600-mile drive. It’s likely there won’t be a single digits next week just because of the travel.
Thanks in advance.
>1. When you work hard, you’ll get rewarded. Baylor changed its national perception after it defeated Iowa State, 31-29. The Bears are now ranked, No. 21 in the AP and No. 24 in the Coaches Poll. When the polls came out last week after Baylor finished off Kansas, 45-7, here is the number of votes they received by the polls: 0 in the AP, 13 in the coaches. The Bears beat a team that started off the season in the Top 10 and had a great reputation. Baylor’s victory and rankings are as a result of what they did to that program. It was an upset. Rankings are subjective as we know. The reasoning and legitimacy of polls can be questioned and rightfully so. But when you’re in them, the biggest complaints you may have are that you’re either too low or too high. First World problems.
>2. Here’s what I think of Iowa State. While this is a week-to-week sport and anything can happen at any time, I didn’t think that much of the Cyclones. Their media hype far exceeded who they really are. They’re a solid team. They’re not a great team. I could see them losing 2-3 more games. Their defense is pretty solid especially in the way they closed the door on Baylor’s offense in the second half. What I don’t like is quarterback Brock Purdy. He just makes the wrong mistake at the wrong time. Now, the tipped interception early in the fourth quarter is a bad break for him. And yes, he led them on what could have been the game-tying drive. But when I look at him, I don’t come away with the impression he’s going to be a handful to deal with. I really think Iowa State’s offense rises and falls on running back Breece Hall. If he’s right, the Cyclones are pretty good. If he’s held in check, I don’t think Purdy gets you to the promised land.
>3. Whether you agreed with any of the penalties called on Baylor or not, it really doesn’t matter. They were called. And this is a problem for Dave Aranda’s program. There were nine flags for 100 yards. Through four games, they’ve been whistled 28 times for 286 yards. That’s seven flags per game. That’s nearly 72 yards per game where the umpire picks up the ball and walks it in Baylor’s direction. They appeared to clean it up with Texas Southern and were OK at Kansas. But you can’t keep stepping in it especially as conference play is in full swing and the stakes are that much higher. They’re going to get burned. And in some respect, they should fee a little fortunate they won because of all of those flags.
>4. No one asked Aranda this in the presser about Baylor’s final offensive possession that led to the Isaiah Hankins’ 34-yard field goal. Trestan Ebner’s 41-yard punt return put the ball at the Cyclone’ 16.
This was the sequence:
1st down: Abram Smith 1 rush to the 15
2nd down: Gerry Bohanon loses two back to the 17
3rd down: Craig Williams for no gain at the 17
4th down: Hankins field goal
Indeed, this was a possession where offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes took the ball out of Bohanon’s hands and didn’t want him to “lose the game”. Very conservative. Don’t blow it in the red zone with a costly mistake. If we pop a run, great. But let’s make sure that we get three and force Iowa State to score and go for two.
Obviously, if Baylor scores a touchdown, it’s a two-score game and it’s probably over. But your offense was really struggling in this half. Bohanon had been getting beat up. I understand the conservative thinking. I would have tried one shot into the end zone on a play that either someone or no one was going to catch it. I don’t understand the decision to use Williams there unless Smith or Ebner was banged up and I missed it.
However, I think this is going to be a case of how Grimes deals with Bohanon for at least the next several weeks. This is still a nurturing process. The biggest thing Grimes has to do is make sure his quarterback continues to grow. There’s the flipside argument of letting him make a mistake. Maybe you do that if you’re tailing Iowa State by 10 in the fourth quarter. But if you have the lead, you play it differently.
>5. How conservative was Grimes with Bohanon in the second half? The junior from Earle (AR) was just 3-6-0 for 18 yards. In the first half, Bohanon was 11-13-0 for 146 yards and two scores. Again, give credit to what Iowa State did defensively in the second half. As Aranda said, “They were able to get some run throughs on the back side of our wide zone. They started giving pressure on the back side and that was clogging up that linebacker area. So guys started bouncing it outside. It just wasn’t the openings that we wanted. And so we had to work our combos more efficiently back there.’’ Well, they didn’t get any of them to work.
>6. What’s going to be interesting is what Oklahoma State’s defensive coaches take from the film from this game against a quality opponent and how they’re going to attack Bohanon and this offense. Are they going to create a coverage pattern to where Bohanon’s passing strength on the boots is limited or eliminated? When Bohanon tried to throw straight up from the pocket in the second half, there were some issues. Go back to the second half passing stats.
But Oklahoma State has what many consider one of the best defenses Mike Gundy has fielded. Like Iowa State, the Cowboys don’t allow much on the ground, just 2.6 yards per carry. They have surrendered 224 passing yards. But they also have collected 13 sacks including one that was a strip sack fumble touchdown against Kansas State on Saturday.
>7. I left Baylor’s offensive approach to Iowa State a little hmmm. The Bears definitely wanted to mix it up in the first half. They ran 27 plays, 14 rushing, 13 passing. But I just never felt like they established the running attack, which is what they have preached that they want to be. We could see the same approach in Stillwater, OK like we did Saturday against Iowa State. Does Baylor somewhat concede the running game or does it want to try and take it on the road and be more physical? I’m always of the mindset that a good running game can be the great equalizer to a hostile opposing home crowd and the opposing team. What this really comes down to is whether Grimes and offensive line coach Eric Mateos saw enough on the film from Iowa State and felt encouraged by it enough to determine if they think this group can take that next step.
>8. The Cowboys are a flaky team. They sometimes look ragged. They sometimes look really polished. I don’t know what to think of quarterback Spencer Sanders. He’s really talented but erratic. He’s thrown for 200 yards a game. He’s also only completing 58 percent of his passes. Now, he’s had to deal with some injuries with his wide receivers. But I don’t think he’s excelled to the point where you can point to him as a game changer. He’s not as good a Purdy and you already know what I think of Purdy.
>9. Speaking of QBs, we’re getting some really meh play from that position in the Big 12. Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler has been underwhelming. Kansas State lost Skylar Thompson and now has issues. TCU’s Max Duggan is nothing special. Texas already shelved the Hudson Card experiment and is going with Casey Thompson who has looked good against Rice and Texas Tech. But it’s Rice and Texas Tech. Tech’s Tyler Shough broke his collar bone and is reportedly out six weeks. The Red Raiders had to turn to Henri Colombi who was a revolving door starter in 2020. Kansas is Kansas. Jarret Doege is just OK at West Virginia but he couldn’t pull off the upset in Norman, OK Saturday when it was sitting right there. Of course, I’ve talked about Purdy and Sanders. To be honest, we still need to see more of Bohanon. You couldn’t argue with the first half. He looked the part of a dual threat. The second half was brutal. But you can rest knowing that the reputation of the Big 12 has gone from being one that’s an aerial circus no defense league to one where defenses are dictating how the game is to be played. We have two months to see if that narrative plays to that.
Let’s make it a great week.
