Questions of the Week: Bears Hit the Road to Face No. 12 Utah

Baylor (1-0) will face the No. 12 Utah Utes (1-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Here are some of the top questions going into the Bears' first real test of the season.

How much more will the offense open up against the Utes?

After the Bears jumped out to an early 28-0 lead over Tarleton in the season opener, offensive coordinator Jake Spavital seemed to take his foot off the gas, limiting tempo and play-calling over the final three quarters en route to a 45-3 victory.

In the post-game press conference, running back Richard Reese (Jr.) was asked how much of the offense was displayed against the Texans, to which he responded, “50-60%.”

That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, with a big game against No. 12 Utah looming this Saturday and Spavital and Co. wanting to keep their cards close to the vest for the Utes. However, it’ll be interesting to see which wrinkles the Bears have yet to show.

More designed quarterback runs? More intermediate routes to get Baylor’s fast wide receivers – Ashtyn Hawkins (5Sr.) and Monaray Baldwin (Sr.) – in space? More runs outside the tackles? The return of running back Dominic Richardson (Sr.)?

Whatever it is, it’ll be something to monitor this weekend.

Will the defensive edge carry over into a hostile environment?

Baylor’s defense smothered Tarleton, limiting the Texans to a 25% offensive success rate. Edge and intensity were missing on last year’s team, and it was evident that the Bears played with a swagger on defense Saturday that had been gone for quite some time.

In his post-game press conference, head coach Dave Aranda noted, "On the sideline, the focus was the best that it’s been in a while.”

The newcomers made an impact, with linebacker Keaton Thomas (RSo.) scoring a defensive touchdown and defensive lineman Elinus Noel III (Sr.) stuffing the run and making two tackles.

Veteran linebacker Matt Jones (6Sr.) and defensive lineman Jackie Marshall (RJr.) tied for the team lead in tackles (7), and defensive linemen Treven Ma’ae (RSr.) and Garmon Randolph (6Sr.) added tackles for loss in the win.

Aranda even said the thing he was most proud of about the victory was that the “guys wanted to hunt” from the start of the game until the end of the game.

Will that edge and intensity carry over into a hostile environment on the road? It’s yet to be seen, but Baylor’s defense exceeded expectations in week one and has a ton of positive momentum to build on going into Saturday.

How will the offensive line hold up against Utah’s front seven?

Even in Baylor’s 45-3 thrashing of Tarleton, the offensive line's play left much to be desired. Entering the season, there were a ton of question marks up front, and after week one, we didn’t get as many answers as we’d hoped for.

The Bears rushing attack didn’t look dominant, and the pass protection was shaky at times.

One of the major positives of bringing in Toledo transfer quarterback Dequan Finn (6Sr.) is his running ability and ability to avoid sacks. However, even on Saturday against an FCS opponent, he was pressured on nine of his 24 dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

In most years, Utah’s front seven has been the strength of its team. The Utes' identity is typically physicality and toughness in the trenches, which, on paper, looks like a mismatch for Baylor’s offensive line going into Saturday’s contest.

Spavital will have his hands full this week devising a game plan that puts Finn, the running backs and the offensive line in the best position to succeed in a hostile road environment.