We’ve been a little heavy on the 80s in recent weeks. So I thought it would take us back to the 60s. Now, I’m not going Woodstock on you. But I take us back to one song that has successfully transcended through the generations. There have been covers made of it. However, you know what they say, “Often imitated, never duplicated.’’ The mystery surrounding Bobby Fuller’s death remains. However, he left us with this with his group, the Bobby Fuller Four.
****
Since they soundly defeated West Virginia on Saturday, the national discussion on Baylor is no longer about the out of conference schedule. It’s mentioned. But the passionate criticism has lost its steam.
The conversation has turned to this program being a bona fide national championship contender. Of course, the No. 2 ranking helps the argument. Yet you’re seeing more people looking beyond who is lining up on the other side of the field.
It’s the eye test. More people are realizing what they are watching. This is something that I locked into during the Texas Tech game. That’s why I wrote that the Bears are going to be the national champions.
What they’re appreciating is where it starts: the offensive and defensive lines. Because each can dictate the line of scrimmage, it makes every person’s job easier. I’ll talk about the defensive line another time. When your offensive line is polished, experienced and molded into one unit, your quarterback has the time to throw, your receivers have time to get open and your running backs have creases to shoot through.
One high school coach put it to me succinctly because he’s on his seventh different combination of the season: “It’s the toughest thing on a football team to mold into one.’’
Baylor’s offensive line has molded into one. You have four seniors in right tackle Pat Colbert, right guard Jarell Broxton, left guard Blake Muir and left tackle Spencer Drango. The baby is junior center Kyle Fuller.
I’m not writing this piece to give this quintet the due it deserves. But what I’m pointing out is that when this group forms the fist, you really appreciate it by not paying attention to it. When an offense is efficient, effective and consistent it’s because the offensive line is setting the tone.
When the Bears play Iowa State on Saturday, just watch these five for a possession or two. Just watch them. You know Baylor is going to move the ball and probably score. So that’s fine. Now, this group is going to own Iowa State’s defensive front.
But pay attention to why they are doing this. Their hands are usually in the right place. Their base stance is balanced because their feet are positioned correctly (not always perfect, of course). They give themselves a chance to win their assignment on every snap. Most importantly, they trust each other on where each is going to be and how he’s going to handle his area. That settled feeling can’t be replace. And they’re healthy (I don’t believe in jinxes, by the way).
You can call it a system that’s designed to create big numbers. Ok, that’s fine. You stll have to block for it. It isn’t a coincidence that Baylor is averaging 7.1 yards per rushing attempt – that’s an absurd number – and 11.7 yards per passing attempt – that’s an even more absurd number. The offensive line has been made this possible. Seth Russell hasn’t thrown an interception in three of his last four games. Baylor quarterbacks have been sacked only six times. That’s pretty remarkable when you consider that Baylor quarterbacks have put it in the air 190 times. Now, the skill players still have to execute on their end. But you get the gist of it.
However, many of you know I give more credence to the QB hurry numbers. Just seven times has a Baylor quarterback been forced to do something he didn’t want to do.
This group should be doing this because it’s a veteran group. But we’ve seen where offensive lines can never get it together. Hence, that coaches comment to me. And we also can expect that these numbers are probably going to spike a little bit once the Bears begin the stretch in November. Baylor is going to be playing better teams.
However, we’re going back to the eye test. This group is pretty good. It faced a pretty solid defense in West Virginia – probably the best defensive unit that West Virginia has fielded under Dana Holgorsen – and came through it without nary a concern.
And when the Baylor head coach publicly states that his offensive line is good enough up front to play a slower pace that pretty much tells you his confidence in doing whatever he wants to do. Lots of programs would give an internal organ to have that luxury.
What I’m looking forward to is the challenge this group will face from Nov. 14-Nov. 27. That’s Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU. Those are probably the top three defensive fronts in the Big 12. Oklahoma State’s group is young but getter better. With that game in Stillwater (can you say ABC primetime?) is going to test their composure. TCU’s defensive front has been erratic. But by the time the Bears come to Fort Worth, the Horned Frogs should be closer to full strength than they ever have been. By the way, anyone think Gary Patterson has been taking notes on Baylor and starting to build a game plan? You know he’s doing a little something.
This is the season Baylor has been building toward. What happened in 2013 and 2014 were nothing short of exceptional. But this is the year where Baylor can put its flag in the ground. There are five numbers from left to right that will account for Baylor bringing a national championship trophy back to Waco – 58, 73, 55, 61 and 69.
****
There’s a part of me that wants to believe that the countless number of cut blocks West Virginia used was just a way to try and give the West Virginia offense a chance to move the ball.
I don’t think that it was West Virginia’s intent to hurt any Baylor players. At least, I hope it wasn’t.
Obviously, when the Andrew Billings injury went down, the anger and the temperature went up to a fever pitch at McLane Stadium. It should have. It was pretty scary. When you watch the replay in slow motion, it really did look bad just because Billings was trapped and helpless to move. The way he toppled over was chilling. Thankfully, it appears to be nothing more than just a sprain.
What I would hope is that Big 12 Supervisor of Officials Walt Anderson and his P5 conference contemporaries will do is review this type of blocking scheme in the offseason and universally come up with a point of emphasis of how this will be called. Then it needs to be adopted by the NCAA rules committee. A chop block isn’t going to meet the standard anymore.
To be honest, you could look at this block as a different form of targeting. If you want to get rid of this problem, then the risk of a player’s ejection is a perfect deterrent.
Maybe the Billings injury creates the attention that is needed for this to be discussed and addressed. But is it going to take someone blowing out an ACL or fracturing a femur for something to be done?
I hope not.
****
Just a couple of thoughts from the college football weekend from rapid fashion.
>Texas A&M has once again been eliminated from the SEC Championship game race. The Aggies really delivered a flat tire performance at Kyle Field against Alabama in 1 41-23 loss. Three pick 6s? That’s really impressive. Why did I pick them against the Crimson Tide? I don’t know.
>As Baylor followers, you can feel the pain of what happened to Michigan against Michigan State at the Big House. A huge special teams mistakes leads to the Spartans winning touchdown, 27-23. Now, it was a fluke. But it happened. We saw it in the Cotton Bowl on the blocked field goal that was returned to set up the game-winning score. Sometimes, you create your own luck. Sometimes, you’re just in the right place at the right time. I was at dinner when I checked my phone and saw Michigan, 23-21 with 10 seconds to play. I thought it was over. Then, my daughter texts me and said Michigan State just won. What? Somewhere the late Yogi Berra is waving his finger. What’s totally classless is how Michigan fans issued death threats to punter Blake O’Neill. It’s a game. Everybody connected to the Maze and Blue should be embarrassed by those actions.
>It would appear that LSU running back Leonard Fournette is the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy. He could wrap it up Nov. 7 when LSU plays at Alabama. Should he play well, the Tigers win in Tuscaloosa and advance to the SEC Championship game, this race will be over. What I’m hoping for is that Baylor’s Shock Linwood will make the voting list. He didn’t have a great game against West Virginia because of what the Mountaineers were doing. The only way he puts his name in the hat is if he blows up in November.
>By the way, Linwood’s 84 yards give him 803 for the season. He needs 730 yards to break Walter Abercrombie’s all-time school record of 3,665 yards. Now that the Bears bowl eligible, Baylor is guaranteed at least a 13th game. Linwood needs to average 104.3 yards in the next seven games to break the record. Postseason stats count.
>I love baseball but I have not caught one pitch of the ALCS between Toronto-Kansas City and NLCS between New York-Chicago. Just haven’t had time.
>Homecoming came off without a hitch. But I think the dates were put in the friend’s zone. Yikes.
****
Now, a look at Baylor’s other sports:
>Big 12 men’s basketball media day is Tuesday in Kansas City. We’ll carry a live stream from the Big 12 so you can check it out when Scott Drew discusses the upcoming season.
>Led by the 11th-place finish of junior Maggie Montoya, the Baylor women’s cross team placed 30th at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational Friday at the Zimmer Championship Course.
Montoya covered the 6,000-meter course in a personal-best time of 19:56.0. She was 20th after 4,000 meters, but closed strong to move up the leaderboard. Next weekend, the men and women will both be off from action in preparation of the Big 12 Championship on Oct. 31 in Stillwater, OK.
>Baylor volleyball blanked West Virginia to earn its first conference road win of the season, 25-21, 25-14, 25-23, Saturday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum. Baylor (14-6, 2-4 Big 12) takes a short trip north to Fort Worth to face TCU on Wednesday.
>On Oct. 10, the 3rd-ranked Baylor equestrian team secured an 11-3 win over No. 9 New Mexico State and a 9-6 win over No. 5 Fresno State to take home its eighth-consecutive Willis Invitational title Saturday at the Willis Family Equestrian Center. Baylor will travel to Springtown, Texas to open Big 12 play against conference opponent TCU on Friday at the Horned Frog’s Turning Point Ranch.
>Baylor soccer played to a 1-1 tie with No. 17 Texas Tech on Sunday afternoon at Betty Lou Mays Field. The Bears (8-5-2, 3-1-1) and Red Raiders (8-3-5, 1-2-3) both scored on penalty kicks as BU has now gone undefeated in nine of its last 10 matches. That followed Friday’s 1-0 victory over Oklahoma. The Bears travel to Fort Worth for a 7 p.m. match at TCU on Friday.
Let’s make it a great week!
****
Since they soundly defeated West Virginia on Saturday, the national discussion on Baylor is no longer about the out of conference schedule. It’s mentioned. But the passionate criticism has lost its steam.
The conversation has turned to this program being a bona fide national championship contender. Of course, the No. 2 ranking helps the argument. Yet you’re seeing more people looking beyond who is lining up on the other side of the field.
It’s the eye test. More people are realizing what they are watching. This is something that I locked into during the Texas Tech game. That’s why I wrote that the Bears are going to be the national champions.
What they’re appreciating is where it starts: the offensive and defensive lines. Because each can dictate the line of scrimmage, it makes every person’s job easier. I’ll talk about the defensive line another time. When your offensive line is polished, experienced and molded into one unit, your quarterback has the time to throw, your receivers have time to get open and your running backs have creases to shoot through.
One high school coach put it to me succinctly because he’s on his seventh different combination of the season: “It’s the toughest thing on a football team to mold into one.’’
Baylor’s offensive line has molded into one. You have four seniors in right tackle Pat Colbert, right guard Jarell Broxton, left guard Blake Muir and left tackle Spencer Drango. The baby is junior center Kyle Fuller.
I’m not writing this piece to give this quintet the due it deserves. But what I’m pointing out is that when this group forms the fist, you really appreciate it by not paying attention to it. When an offense is efficient, effective and consistent it’s because the offensive line is setting the tone.
When the Bears play Iowa State on Saturday, just watch these five for a possession or two. Just watch them. You know Baylor is going to move the ball and probably score. So that’s fine. Now, this group is going to own Iowa State’s defensive front.
But pay attention to why they are doing this. Their hands are usually in the right place. Their base stance is balanced because their feet are positioned correctly (not always perfect, of course). They give themselves a chance to win their assignment on every snap. Most importantly, they trust each other on where each is going to be and how he’s going to handle his area. That settled feeling can’t be replace. And they’re healthy (I don’t believe in jinxes, by the way).
You can call it a system that’s designed to create big numbers. Ok, that’s fine. You stll have to block for it. It isn’t a coincidence that Baylor is averaging 7.1 yards per rushing attempt – that’s an absurd number – and 11.7 yards per passing attempt – that’s an even more absurd number. The offensive line has been made this possible. Seth Russell hasn’t thrown an interception in three of his last four games. Baylor quarterbacks have been sacked only six times. That’s pretty remarkable when you consider that Baylor quarterbacks have put it in the air 190 times. Now, the skill players still have to execute on their end. But you get the gist of it.
However, many of you know I give more credence to the QB hurry numbers. Just seven times has a Baylor quarterback been forced to do something he didn’t want to do.
This group should be doing this because it’s a veteran group. But we’ve seen where offensive lines can never get it together. Hence, that coaches comment to me. And we also can expect that these numbers are probably going to spike a little bit once the Bears begin the stretch in November. Baylor is going to be playing better teams.
However, we’re going back to the eye test. This group is pretty good. It faced a pretty solid defense in West Virginia – probably the best defensive unit that West Virginia has fielded under Dana Holgorsen – and came through it without nary a concern.
And when the Baylor head coach publicly states that his offensive line is good enough up front to play a slower pace that pretty much tells you his confidence in doing whatever he wants to do. Lots of programs would give an internal organ to have that luxury.
What I’m looking forward to is the challenge this group will face from Nov. 14-Nov. 27. That’s Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU. Those are probably the top three defensive fronts in the Big 12. Oklahoma State’s group is young but getter better. With that game in Stillwater (can you say ABC primetime?) is going to test their composure. TCU’s defensive front has been erratic. But by the time the Bears come to Fort Worth, the Horned Frogs should be closer to full strength than they ever have been. By the way, anyone think Gary Patterson has been taking notes on Baylor and starting to build a game plan? You know he’s doing a little something.
This is the season Baylor has been building toward. What happened in 2013 and 2014 were nothing short of exceptional. But this is the year where Baylor can put its flag in the ground. There are five numbers from left to right that will account for Baylor bringing a national championship trophy back to Waco – 58, 73, 55, 61 and 69.
****
There’s a part of me that wants to believe that the countless number of cut blocks West Virginia used was just a way to try and give the West Virginia offense a chance to move the ball.
I don’t think that it was West Virginia’s intent to hurt any Baylor players. At least, I hope it wasn’t.
Obviously, when the Andrew Billings injury went down, the anger and the temperature went up to a fever pitch at McLane Stadium. It should have. It was pretty scary. When you watch the replay in slow motion, it really did look bad just because Billings was trapped and helpless to move. The way he toppled over was chilling. Thankfully, it appears to be nothing more than just a sprain.
What I would hope is that Big 12 Supervisor of Officials Walt Anderson and his P5 conference contemporaries will do is review this type of blocking scheme in the offseason and universally come up with a point of emphasis of how this will be called. Then it needs to be adopted by the NCAA rules committee. A chop block isn’t going to meet the standard anymore.
To be honest, you could look at this block as a different form of targeting. If you want to get rid of this problem, then the risk of a player’s ejection is a perfect deterrent.
Maybe the Billings injury creates the attention that is needed for this to be discussed and addressed. But is it going to take someone blowing out an ACL or fracturing a femur for something to be done?
I hope not.
****
Just a couple of thoughts from the college football weekend from rapid fashion.
>Texas A&M has once again been eliminated from the SEC Championship game race. The Aggies really delivered a flat tire performance at Kyle Field against Alabama in 1 41-23 loss. Three pick 6s? That’s really impressive. Why did I pick them against the Crimson Tide? I don’t know.
>As Baylor followers, you can feel the pain of what happened to Michigan against Michigan State at the Big House. A huge special teams mistakes leads to the Spartans winning touchdown, 27-23. Now, it was a fluke. But it happened. We saw it in the Cotton Bowl on the blocked field goal that was returned to set up the game-winning score. Sometimes, you create your own luck. Sometimes, you’re just in the right place at the right time. I was at dinner when I checked my phone and saw Michigan, 23-21 with 10 seconds to play. I thought it was over. Then, my daughter texts me and said Michigan State just won. What? Somewhere the late Yogi Berra is waving his finger. What’s totally classless is how Michigan fans issued death threats to punter Blake O’Neill. It’s a game. Everybody connected to the Maze and Blue should be embarrassed by those actions.
>It would appear that LSU running back Leonard Fournette is the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy. He could wrap it up Nov. 7 when LSU plays at Alabama. Should he play well, the Tigers win in Tuscaloosa and advance to the SEC Championship game, this race will be over. What I’m hoping for is that Baylor’s Shock Linwood will make the voting list. He didn’t have a great game against West Virginia because of what the Mountaineers were doing. The only way he puts his name in the hat is if he blows up in November.
>By the way, Linwood’s 84 yards give him 803 for the season. He needs 730 yards to break Walter Abercrombie’s all-time school record of 3,665 yards. Now that the Bears bowl eligible, Baylor is guaranteed at least a 13th game. Linwood needs to average 104.3 yards in the next seven games to break the record. Postseason stats count.
>I love baseball but I have not caught one pitch of the ALCS between Toronto-Kansas City and NLCS between New York-Chicago. Just haven’t had time.
>Homecoming came off without a hitch. But I think the dates were put in the friend’s zone. Yikes.
****
Now, a look at Baylor’s other sports:
>Big 12 men’s basketball media day is Tuesday in Kansas City. We’ll carry a live stream from the Big 12 so you can check it out when Scott Drew discusses the upcoming season.
>Led by the 11th-place finish of junior Maggie Montoya, the Baylor women’s cross team placed 30th at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational Friday at the Zimmer Championship Course.
Montoya covered the 6,000-meter course in a personal-best time of 19:56.0. She was 20th after 4,000 meters, but closed strong to move up the leaderboard. Next weekend, the men and women will both be off from action in preparation of the Big 12 Championship on Oct. 31 in Stillwater, OK.
>Baylor volleyball blanked West Virginia to earn its first conference road win of the season, 25-21, 25-14, 25-23, Saturday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum. Baylor (14-6, 2-4 Big 12) takes a short trip north to Fort Worth to face TCU on Wednesday.
>On Oct. 10, the 3rd-ranked Baylor equestrian team secured an 11-3 win over No. 9 New Mexico State and a 9-6 win over No. 5 Fresno State to take home its eighth-consecutive Willis Invitational title Saturday at the Willis Family Equestrian Center. Baylor will travel to Springtown, Texas to open Big 12 play against conference opponent TCU on Friday at the Horned Frog’s Turning Point Ranch.
>Baylor soccer played to a 1-1 tie with No. 17 Texas Tech on Sunday afternoon at Betty Lou Mays Field. The Bears (8-5-2, 3-1-1) and Red Raiders (8-3-5, 1-2-3) both scored on penalty kicks as BU has now gone undefeated in nine of its last 10 matches. That followed Friday’s 1-0 victory over Oklahoma. The Bears travel to Fort Worth for a 7 p.m. match at TCU on Friday.
Let’s make it a great week!
