Tag: Baylor Football

Looking at one area in which Texas can secure a win over Baylor

One touchdown-generating turnover could secure a Texas victory this week.

The Texas Longhorns can end the Baylor game fairly quickly if injured Bears quarterback Blake Shapen is unable to play. One pick six could end the game. The state of Baylor offensive attack is that dire.

Baylor is set to run out Sawyer Robertson at quarterback on Saturday. On the year, Robertson has completed 28 of 62 passes which is good for a 45.2% completion rate. Through three appearances, Robertson has 444 passing yards, one touchdown, three interceptions and a 34.5 quarterback rating (QBR).

On the other side, Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and company have forced several key turnovers this season. This is a game where a turnover could tip the scales dramatically.

Last week, Texas defensive back Jerrin Thompson took a pick-six to the house to help ice away a 31-10 win over Wyoming. The week before, Thompson and fellow defensive back Jahdae Barron made game changing interceptions against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

If ever there was a conference game where an early turnover could secure an outcome, this is the week. If Texas is going to win with defense, it might as well add a score to punctuate a strong defensive performance.

Trap Game: Can Texas finally start a game strong against Baylor?

Can Texas finally play a good first quarter this week? It all depends on Quinn Ewers.

The Texas Longhorns are in store for another knock down, drag out game this week against the Baylor Bears. The records don’t matter and the Texas talent advantage doesn’t matter. Lesser teams can muddy the game with first half defense.

We’re not predicting that Texas will lose to Baylor, though stranger things have happened in Austin the last decade plus. That said, the first half seems likely to be ugly, because that’s what we have seen so far this season.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian delved into what defenses are doing against the Longhorns. According to Sarkisian, opposing teams are running defensive schemes that they have not ran before on tape. Do you think that changes this week? It likely does not change.

Baylor head coach Dave Aranda is one of the best football minds in college football. You can count on him running a defense designed to get Baylor to halftime tied, with the lead or within one score of Texas. The likelihood is that he will succeed given how the Rice and Wyoming games unfolded.

It’s time for Texas to start bucking that trend or else one of these teams could beat the Longhorns. It’s time for Steve Sarkisian to find plays that get his team past what opposition throws at him. It’s time for Quinn Ewers and company to execute those plays, because Sarkisian is probably already putting forth solutions that Texas isn’t converting.

Texas needs to start winning Big 12 openers. It needs to stop losing to inferior Big 12 foes. Saturday night presents the perfect opportunity for the team.

Looking at the Texas Longhorns and Baylor Bears by the numbers

It might not be this simple, but Texas is having a much better year than Baylor on paper.

The No. 3 Texas Longhorns (3-0) take on the Baylor Bears (1-2) in Week 4. As you might expect, the matchup favors the Longhorns.

The Bears secured their first win against Long Island after home losses to Texas State and No. 11 Utah. Albeit, the Utah performance much better than the opening week loss to Texas State.

We suggested you might see a different Baylor team after its opening loss to Texas State. Against Utah, the Bears won the matchup for most of the game. It was evidence that head coach Dave Aranda puts forth his best defensive game plans for the biggest games on the schedule.

Saturday’s game would certainly count as a premier game for Baylor. The rivalry is one of the oldest annual matchups for both schools. This year marks what could be the end of a rivalry that dates back to 1901.

There are still several concerns for the Baylor offense particularly at quarterback. Backup quarterback Sawyer Robertson completed 10 of 22 attempts for 113 yards against Long Island in relief of injured starting quarterback Blake Shapen. Shapen’s MCL injury would put pressure on key contributors to step up in his absence, though he might be ready to play against the Longhorns this week.

Let’s examine where both teams rank nationally across several statistical categories through two games.

What to learn from Texas’ final two regular season games of 2022

Texas was a different team against Kansas and Baylor to end the season.

There’s no way around it: Texas disappointed in 2022. I predicted a 9-3 finish for the Longhorns last year. Heading into the final two games, the team had a 6-4 record.

The next two games told a different story. Texas performed more like it should to close the regular season. It secured two wins over bowl teams in the final two weeks. Following a home loss to TCU, the Longhorns cruised past Kansas on the road, 55-14. The next week the team dominated the Baylor Bears in a 38-27 win that wasn’t as close as the score would indicate.

The common theme in both games starts up front. The Texas offensive line started to create holes for its running backs. Longhorns backs went off on their opponents. The team ran for 427 yards against the Kansas Jayhawks, including an 11 carry, 108-yard performance from this year’s presumed starter Jonathon Brooks.

The next week Texas running back Bijan Robinson ran for 179 yards. Signal caller Quinn Ewers complimented Robinson with a 75% completion rate. Lost in the Longhorns’ underwhelming bowl performance was a Texas team that had started to put things together offensively.

There’s still plenty to prove for this year’s squad. Ewers in particular needs to make marked progress. Nevertheless, the arrow pointed up at the end of the team’s Big 12 slate. Texas will look to recapture some of last season’s better performances in its final season in the league.

Where each Big 12 team football team falls in ESPN’s initial FPI rankings for 2023

Texas is the only Big 12 team to land among the top 10 nationally, while Kansas sits at the tail end of the conference.

ESPN released their initial Football Power Index (FPI) rankings on Tuesday. Continue reading “Where each Big 12 team football team falls in ESPN’s initial FPI rankings for 2023”

College Football News predicts every Big 12 football team’s record

College Football News has Texas winning the Big 12 conference.

Another publication is touting the Texas Longhorns as the favorite to win the Big 12. College Football News released their prediction for every Big 12 game last week. Texas had the best record in the conference.

The college football website had the Longhorns finishing 10-2 in 2023. That feels like a reasonable prediction for the team based on its three-win improvement last season and all the production the team returns.

The Longhorns are capable of finishing around the 8-win mark again. We have seen plenty of Texas football teams find a way to underachieve. This squad would probably have to get creative to find a way to fall below 8 wins.

For a fuller view of the national perspective of the Big 12, here’s how College Football News sees the conference finishing in 2023.

Combined Big 12 football predictions have Texas as the 2023 favorite

We combine three Big 12 standings predictions to see where Texas lands.

There’s strength in numbers. That phrase is true in multiple facets of life, but certainly in forming informed opinions in college football. Continue reading “Combined Big 12 football predictions have Texas as the 2023 favorite”

Record predictions 1.0 for all Big 12 football teams

There could be plenty of parity in the Big 12 conference football standings.

At long last, the Big 12 schedule is official for all 14 teams. The schedule is more favorable for some than others.

The Oklahoma Sooners certainly had a good draw in what could be their final Big 12 season. They avoid road trips to Kansas State and Baylor, both of which defeated them in Norman last season. In addition, they avoid the surging Texas Tech Red Raiders who they lost to at season’s end.

Oklahoma State has an unremarkable schedule as well. The Cowboys face all four of the conference’s new additions, avoiding TCU, Texas, Baylor and Texas Tech.

TCU faces one of the more difficult conference slates. The schedule sees the Horned Frogs play Kansas State, Texas Tech, Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma consecutively.

After picking each game, here are my initial record predictions for the conference.

Baylor Football Schedule 2023: Analysis, Breakdown, 3 Things To Know

Baylor football schedule 2023 analysis, breakdown, 3 things to know

Baylor football schedule 2023: Who do the Bears miss on the Big 12 schedule and what are 3 things to know?

Baylor Football Schedule 2023: 3 Things To Know

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Sept 2 Texas State

Sept 9 Utah

Sept 16 Long Island

Sept 23 Texas

Sept 30 at UCF

Oct 7 Texas Tech

Oct 14 OPEN DATE

Oct 21 at Cincinnati

Oct 28 Iowa State

Nov 4 Houston

Nov 11 at Kansas State

Nov 18 at TCU

Nov 25 West Virginia

2023 College Football Rankings 1-133: First Look

Baylor Football Schedule What To Know: Who do the Bears miss from the Big 12 slate?

The Big 12 schedule has a few tough twists and turns, but Bears get a few massive breaks. It starts with not having to deal with what should be a refreshed Oklahoma team. That, and there’s no BYU, there’s no dealing with Oklahoma State, and Kansas is no longer the sure-thing win it was in the past.

However that means it has to face Texas – that starts things off at home – and it has to go to TCU.

Baylor Football Schedule What Really Matters

Baylor doesn’t have to do too much traveling.

It only has four road games – all in the Big 12 – and one of them is against TCU. While it misses BYU, it has to go away from Waco to UCF and Cincinnati. Best of all, there isn’t a run of three road games in four weeks – Kansas State and TCU are the only back-to-back away dates.

And it’s not like going to Fort Worth is a stretch of a drive.

Own home field advantage, and this should be a great year.

Baylor Football Schedule What To Know: What does it all really mean?

Considering Utah and Texas both have to come to Baylor, this isn’t all that bad of a schedule.

There’s a week off before having to go to Cincinnati, and again, there’s no Oklahoma or Oklahoma State to face.

Basically, there’s not a game on the slate that’s not winnable. Getting bowl eligible should be a breeze, and if the team can be a little bit sharper, eight wins with this schedule should be a starting point.

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2023 College Football Schedules: All 133 Teams

Former Georgia LB takes job with Baylor coaching staff

Former Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Christian Robinson will coach inside linebackers for the Baylor Bears

Former Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Christian Robinson will serve as the new inside linebackers coach for the Baylor Bears. Robinson will coach and recruit under Baylor head coach Dave Aranda.

Christian Robinson played linebacker at Georgia from 2009-2012. In 2022, he was the linebackers coach for the Auburn Tigers. Robinson joined a tough situation at Auburn under Bryan Harsin, but he will be in a more stable environment at Baylor.

Robinson served as a graduate assistant at Georgia under Mark Richt from 2013-2014. Robinson also held a similar role at Ole Miss and Mississippi State before becoming the linebackers coach at Florida under Dan Mullen in 2018. He coached linebackers for four seasons at Florida.

Robinson recorded 159 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss during his career with Georgia. Robinson served as Florida’s interim defensive coordinator after the Gators lost to South Carolina this season. Robinson was not retained by incoming Florida coach Billy Napier back in 2021.

Baylor announced that it was hiring Robinson via Twitter:

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