Gameday Thread: Baylor (0-4) at Kansas State (2-1)

BAYLOR (0-4) at Kansas State (2-1)

Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium | 2:30 p.m. CT | ESPN2

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BEARS STILL SEARCHING FOR FIRST WIN OF 2017

Obvious improvement and competitive games have been the name of the game for the Bears last two weeks, but the Bears are hoping a game against Kansas State will be the breakthrough point for the season. During their last two trips to Manhattan, the Bears have escaped with a win, including a 31-24 victory in 2015 and a 35-25 victory in 2013.

The difference is, however, the Bears took the No. 15 and No. 6-ranked teams in the country to the Little Apple on each of those two occasions, including a 2013 team that won the Big 12 championship. This time around the Bears are 0-4 and considered one of the worst Power 5 programs in the country.

If the Bears are able to escape with a victory and avoid a blowout loss, or even a dreaded moral victory, it will only continue their upward trend they have seen over three-game streak that started with a 17-10 loss to UTSA in the second week of the season. The Bears have held a large amount of momentum in the second half of games against Duke and Oklahoma the last two weeks only to see it evaporate late.

Following a week off, Kansas State's outing in week three resulted in a 14-7 loss on the road against Vanderbilt where the Wildcats totaled 277 total yards, but only allowed a total of 270 yards to the Commodores.

SIDENOTE STORYLINE

Zach Smith looks to stay on track

For the first time in his career as a starting quarterback, Baylor sophomore Zach Smith went an entire game without an interception against No. 3 Oklahoma last Saturday. In turn, the Bears stuck around with the Sooners and were within a possession of tying the contest in the final minutes of the game.

In six career starts, Smith has averaged 330 yards passing per game and tossed 18 touchdown passes. It was the interceptions, 10 of them to be exact, the held Smith back through the first five games.

Facing a Kansas State team that will look to confuse Smith in coverage and then play keep-away on offense, it is crucial for the second-year quarterback to protect the football and play a game of keep away of his own.

In 2016, Smith received the first start of his career against the Wildcats. Then a true freshman, Smith completed 27-of-45 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns to give the Bears a 14-7 at halftime, but three second-half interceptions were his undoing and the Bears dropped the contest 42-21.

Kansas State running back Alex Barnes rushed for 129 yards and scored four touchdowns on 19 carries to lead the Wildcats to 237 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns in the victory.

MATT RHULE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

On balancing a loss to Oklahoma with some positive momentum...

“I mean that’s why I treat wins and losses the same. There’s truth behind all of it. There are some things we got better at, and there are some things we got a lot worse at. We’re not tackling on defense. If we tackle, we might’ve won the football game. I can tell you this, the coaches on defense and the players on defense are not walking out feeling like they went toe to toe on the field. Either guys are making a decision not to do their job, or we’re getting out-physicaled away from winning the football game. And the offensive line can’t be happy right now, rushing for 60 yards. And the backs can’t be either. I think the way we process is to everyday look at what you’re doing right, what you’re doing wrong, and try to get better at it. We have not played to our capabilities yet, and we won’t all year. We’ll continue to get better and better and better, but there’s something always out there we can get. I want them to feel good about that we played a little better on offense. We didn’t play a little better on defense. We played better against Duke than we did against Oklahoma. We just have to keep pushing ourselves forward, and when we win, I’ll still be the same way. I’ll say “we’re still not doing this right, but we’re doing this better,” and just trying to keep moving the team forward.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Jim Black When Baylor lost one of its two most productive receivers in Chris Platt, Matt Rhule identified Pooh Stricklin as the receiver who would step into the role left behind by the Speedster. Stricklin caught six passes for 85 yards against Oklahoma last Saturday.

Jim Black Taylor Young got to Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield twice last week, but facing a run-first, slow-paced KSU offense, Young will need to find his success as close to the line of scrimmage as possible to keep the Wildcats in long to-go distances.

Jim Black Baylor has struggled with giving up big plays the last two weeks and the primary concern comes with the safeties not finishing the play given the chance. Taion Sells returned against Oklahoma and showed he still doesn't have an issue playing with contact. It will be key Saturday.

Jim Black After receiving 11 carries against Oklahoma, Terence Williams should be ready to receive a larger workload against Kansas State, taking the No. 1 role ahead of John Lovett. If Williams can help Baylor control the clock, Baylor's chances to earn a victory improve greatly.