The Underrated Performer for Baylor against Iowa State

After another heartbreaking loss at McLane Stadium on Saturday to Iowa State 30-18, it’s difficult to find some positives, but we’ll try.

My initial thought for this week’s underrated performer was going to be punter Palmer Williams, who got in plenty of work as he racked up more yards (150) on four punts than Baylor did rushing (86) with five different players getting carries. Williams finished with one punt inside of the 20-yard line while averaging 37.5 yards per attempt with his longest going for 47 yards.

While Williams was definitely a viable option, our underrated performer is sophomore safety Devyn Bobby.

On a day when his former high school (Desoto) sent shockwaves across the nation as they upset Duncanville 49-35, Bobby had his best performance since his days playing for the Eagles. He finished the day against Iowa State with a career-high 11 tackles — the most by any Baylor player this season — and added his first career interception as a Bear.

Bobby was able to pick off the Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht late in the second quarter setting up an 8-yard touchdown run by Dawson Pendergrass to put Baylor on the board for the first time with 44 seconds before halftime down 17-6.

While it’s nice to see yet another young player step up for Baylor, it’s never a good sign for any defense to have a safety be their leading tackler. 

The Bears have two more chances left this season to clinch that elusive Big 12 victory at home, as they still have Houston and West Virginia remaining on the schedule. Baylor must win two of their remaining four games to clinch bowl eligibility as well, and doing so at McLane Stadium would be nice.

Baylor (3-5, 2-3) will get their first crack on Saturday as they welcome in Houston (3-5, 1-4) for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff, in what has become a must-win scenario for the Bears.