Gameday Thread: Baylor (4-3) Heads to Lubbock to Face Texas Tech (4-3)

The Baylor Bears (4-3) hit the road to face Texas Tech (4-3) in Lubbock at Jones AT&T Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be aired live on ESPN2.

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Quotes of the Week

Senior Receiver Gavin Holmes

"We know it's going to be a crazy atmosphere. Like, we know, blackout, Pat Mahomes is going to be there, all that stuff. But those are just distractions to us, essentially. So, we're just going to go out there and play our game." 

Junior Safety Devin Neal

"Well, we talked about the atmosphere first thing, just everybody getting their heads right. Making sure we all came, brought our energy, because we're all we got. Like, everybody's coming from Waco, there's nobody else," Neal said. "There's just going to be nothing but just people from Texas Tech at the game and us. So, we got to bring our own energy and just get fired up and stay focused and keep our heads down."

Head Coach Dave Aranda

"I think for us, it's going to be starting fast. And then, when we do start fast, not having a lull, not having a third quarter, so to speak. And so that we continue to pound the rock and work on the things that are right in front of us so that we are in a position to finish strong," Aranda said. "I think that complete game has been way elusive to us. And I think that's probably going to be the most difficult thing of all of it." 

Analysis of the Week

SicEm365 Analyst JJ Joe

In my opinion, it appears that Coach Roberts feels that he can't dial up the blitzes like he did last year.   Last year, Coach Aranda spoke about relying less on the blitz and developing rushers that could simply 'Win' their 1 on 1 battles.  Well, last year we relied on the blitz most of the season to produce pressure, and I believe that's what's missing this year.   To beat Tech, I really think the Baylor Defense has to impact the QB at a high rate. 

Now, without blitzing Tech I'm skeptical that we will be able to consistently, emphasis on consistently, impact the QB.  Do we have the talent up front to win battles and put pressure on the QB?  Yes!  Well why am I skeptical, you might ask?  By this point in the season, most teams are who they are.   There are a few teams that figure it out later in the season, and they close the season stronger. Normally, those are teams that get a number of injured players back, or their young players have an 'ah ha' and figure it out.  Our defensive front is full of veteran players who are who they are.   Our best pass rusher, or most effective pass rusher, is Bryson Jackson who is an undersized 'Jack" DE. Our best pass rusher has 2 sacks on the season and 3 QBH.  

Video of the Week