Keys to the Game: What Baylor Must Do to Beat Colorado in Boulder

Baylor fans should be feeling pretty optimistic about the future of this season as the Bears (2-1) head into Big 12 play on Saturday night against Coach Prime and Colorado (2-1). While the offense is still a work in progress, the defense has been phenomenal, and special teams have been solid. 

With the media frenzy surrounding the Buffaloes and all of their superstars, Baylor has the opportunity to bring its lunch pail mentality to the bright lights of Folsom Field and spoil Colorado’s homecoming on national television.

Here are this week’s ‘Keys to the Game’ that the Bears must achieve to play spoiler and keep their momentum rolling.

1: Hold up in the Secondary

Up to this point, Baylor’s secondary has yet to be truly tested. The Bears faced backup quarterbacks in their season opener against Tarleton, then they went into Salt Lake City and held Cam Rising to under 100 yards passing before he exited the game with an injury.

Last week, Air Force had a few missed opportunities, but naturally, the Falcons didn’t pass much with their triple-option offense. Colorado is going to do the complete opposite of Air Force. The Buffs will pass consistently and hardly ever run the ball. Shedeur Sanders (Sr.) is a tremendous quarterback who loves to stay in the pocket and push the rock down the field. The only bad part is that his offensive line has been a mess.

The Colorado receivers Travis Hunter (Jr.), LaJohntay Wester (Sr.), Jimmy Horn Jr. (Sr.) and Will Sheppard (Sr.) are extremely talented and can be a matchup nightmare for any secondary. We’ll find out how good guys like Caden Jenkins (So.) and Devyn Bobby (Jr.) truly are on Saturday night. Carl Williams IV (So.) has missed the past two games, but if he’s available for Baylor, that would be massive.

If Baylor’s defensive line can wreak havoc and make Sanders uncomfortable in the pocket, then I like the Bears chances of coming away victorious.

2: Eliminate to Turnovers

The only reason Baylor didn’t score about 50 points on Air Force was costly and embarrassing turnovers that killed drives. Last week, Baylor's three fumbles didn’t turn out as detrimental as they could have been because the Falcons could not capitalize on them with touchdowns. However, that won’t be the case against Colorado.

Interceptions were an issue for Dequan Finn (6Sr.) when he started the first two games for Baylor before injuring his shoulder against Utah. Sawyer Robertson (RJr.) was able to throw for just under 250 yards last week without any interceptions, but the Air Force secondary wasn’t very good.

Whichever quarterback gets the nod this week will need to be very efficient with their throws, or Colorado will pick them off all night. It wouldn’t be surprising if Hunter shuts down an entire side of the field and force Baylor to look for quick check-down passes.

3: Win the Trenches

I’ve been pleased with the progression of Baylor’s offensive line so far this season. They haven’t been perfect by any means, but they are better than what we witnessed last season. The unit has allowed five sacks this season, but not all of those were their fault.

The defensive line has been awesome. What guys like Jackie Marshall (RJr.) have accomplished so far has been an absolute game-changer for Baylor, as they had nobody like that last season to create chaos. 

After facing the physicality of Utah and Air Force the past two weeks, this matchup against Colorado should be a walk in the park if handled correctly. The Buffaloes weakness on both sides of the ball is the trenches, which led to the national fallout after the offensive line’s performance against Nebraska and Sanders calling them out postgame.

Conclusion:

I think this game should be a lot of fun and very much a back-and-forth affair, with Baylor coming out on top 35-34. It all comes down to player execution, but I have faith in head coach Dave Aranda’s defensive mind to have his team ready to slow down the star-studded Colorado offense.