Gameday Thread: Baylor (1-0) heads to San Antonio to face UTSA (0-1)

BAYLOR (1-0) at UTSA (0-1)

Alamodome | 6 p.m CT | Facebook Live

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Storylines of the Week

First of 10 games against teams who defeated the Bears in 2017 

Baylor has 10 games on the schedule against teams that beat them a season ago and this is the first one. UTSA dominated the Bears physically a year ago and were just the tougher team. That led to the 17-10 victory for the Roadrunners and now the Bears are looking for some payback. 

This years teams are very different from the two that met last season at McLane Stadium. Baylor put up 55 points week one and are in year two in Matt Rhule's program. The depth has been replenished at almost every position and the offensive line has taken a huge step in the right direction, specifically in regards to depth. On the opposite hand, UTSA lost a ton of talent including first round NFL draft pick Marcus Davenport. The Roadrunners also replaced all five of the starting offensive linemen.

Two different team will suit up on Saturday at the Alamodome but only one will come out trending in the right direction.

Who will be the starting quarterback?

This is the second week in a row that Baylor fans will be asking this question. Everyone expected Charlie Brewer would start last week but that both he and Jalan McClendon would play. This week it is expected that both will play, but who will get the start? Let's make a case for both.

Brewer is the incumbent who won Big 12 Frshman Offensive Player of the Year last season. He led the Bears to their only win last season and showed a lot of promise. He was anointed the starter by everyone coming into the year and for good reason. His incredible ability to extend plays with his feet and throw accurately sets him apart from most quarterbacks in the country. Brewer was 8 of 15 passing for 138 yards and one interception in the Abilene Christian game.

McClendon is the graduate transfer from North Carolina State who arrived before fall camp. He worked extremely hard to get familiar with the playbook and watched a lot of film to make sure he was prepared. During fall camp he showed the coaches his ability and forced himself into a competition with Brewer. He did not play much at NC State as he set behind current NFL QB Jacoby Brisset and potential first-round pick Ryan Finley and looks hungry to prove that he should have been the guy. He excelled week one. He was 10 of 13 passing for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener.

Quote of the Week

"I don’t think we had enough of that brand we wanted. We were up 17-0 and 24-7. We allowed them to make it a game going into halftime. That’s not what we want. I didn’t feel the edge on the sideline when we were up early. We were excited and celebrating and a lot of guys laughing and talking. That’s not football. We needed to put those guys away. That’s the edge we need to have moving forward. On offense we need to eliminate penalties. Two touchdowns taken away by penalties, it didn’t matter then but it could matter later in the season. We also had missed tackles, some we just got on the receiving end of a good move, others were guys just diving when it was too late. Not enough guys trying to be physical and tough. ACU ran for 220 yards against us. That is completely unacceptable. UTSA did that against us last year.  We have got to get our defense together. That comes down to toughness, physicality and better angles. I know Phil and the coaches are working on it.

"Last year they out-toughed us and they were the type of team I respected and liked. We have worked really hard to become a team with that type of brand. I’m ready to go down there to play a team that’s physical and a good team." — Matt Rhule

Statistic of the Week

Arizona State dominated UTSA's offensive line to the tune of 9.0 sacks and 15.0 tackles for loss in their contest last Saturday in Tempe. With the goal of 40.0 sacks on the season for the Bears, this could be a good jump start to reaching that number.

In the 2017 contest between the two teams the Bears tallied 3.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss against the Roadrunners, a moderate total. However, the disrupitive totals were more than offset by a dominant front-seven performance from UTSA as the C-USA team collected 4.0 sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss of their own. 

The Bears didn't allow a sack in their season opener against ACU and only 3.0 of ACU's tackles came behind the line of scrimmage. On defense, the Bears will need to step it up considerably as they only totaled 1.0 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss against the FCS opponent.

Key Baylor Players

Jim Black The Quarterbacks Jalan McClendon showed off in the game against ACU what he was rumored to be doing in practice while Charlie Brewer looked a little rusty. Whatever the case, both head in to week two with the plans to split series and have their shot at earning the job.

Jim Black Offensive Line The OL played a horrific game against UTSA's front seven a season ago and while they showed promise against ACU, the step up in competition this week is real. The addition of Jake Fruhmorgen back in the line up should help.

Jim Black Secondary Two of ACU's three touchdowns came at the hands of the secondary for the Bears. Once it was a blown coverage, the second was a missed tackle at the line of scrimmage. Cleaning these issues up will go along ways in help the defense improve.