Gameday Thread: Baylor (4-2) heads to Austin to take on Texas (5-1)

BAYLOR (4-2) at TEXAS (5-1)

Darrel K. Royal Memorial Stadium | 2:30 p.m CT | ESPN

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Storylines of the Week

Brewer vs. Ehlingher, Lake Travis vs. Austin Westlake or is it Baylor vs. Texas?

We know the history as it has been talked about ad nauseam by myself and many other but this is 100% one of the big storylines of the week. The kid that won all those games at Lake Travis but didn’t get recruited by Texas against the golden boy who couldn’t beat Lake Travis but got all the national attention. One was the small, super accurate kid that just won football games, the other was the big armed gunslinger that had all the potential in the world. But now high school is behind them and this year will be their first opportunity to face each other at the next level. Both have gotten significantly better in a years time and as a result both of their respective teams are much better as well. They both take care of the ball and are completing over 65% of their passes. Ehlingher scrambles a ton as part of the offense whereas Brewer runs out of necessity but they both have shown to be outstanding athletes. These two are the future of the Big 12 at the quarterback position and on Saturday all eyes will be on these two gunslingers in the place where the rivalry began. 

Looking ahead to Big 12 Championships

The Longhorns have certainly made huge strides this season and have been impressive in half of its games. Wins over USC, TCU, @Kansas State, and Oklahoma definitely make for a very good season. They want to win Big 12 and National Championships right now and this is the kind of year fans have been looking forward to. But against two of the worse teams on their schedule Maryland and Tulsa, they lost one and beat the other by seven. This team is not invincible and if their is one guarantee this season it is that Texas will lose to someone they are suppose to beat, the question is will it be Baylor? Tom Herman is absolutely terrific as a home underdog to cover the spread (22-1) but not when he is the favorite at home. Texas has also been terrible in the 4th quarter against Maryland, Tulsa, Kansas State, and Oklahoma. The Bears will have a chance to be in this game the whole way and will love their chances if they are within seven going into the 4th quarter.

Quote of the Week

“I think a couple things. No. 1, when you get into conference play, that’s what a lot of your games are going to be like. They’re going to come down to the end. And usually, to me, winning games in the fourth quarter comes down to maturity, comes down to confidence, it comes down to trust. Trusting in yourself, trusting in the guys around you. And I just didn’t sense any panic. I sensed a team that was just determined to find a way to win the game and kept coming back and kept battling. They scored the last touchdown, and it could have been a depressing moment because I kind of think we had it. And they kick it off and they tackle us at the 14-yard line. So, to have 86 yards in front of you, that can be daunting. But we just did it piece by piece. At the end, to get down there, to put the game not just in Connor’s hands, but the whole PAT/field goal team, I thought that was really important. A tremendous experience for us as we move forward. We played a lot of young kids in that game. We started two true freshmen in the secondary, and I believe it was both of their first starts. Christian Morgan stepped up and had an interception. Kalon Barnes made some unbelievable plays. We wear those GPS units, and Coach Althoff told me that (Barnes) recorded like a 22.9, which was the third-fastest of all time here.

I just think that was good. But, I think the biggest thing is our guys enjoyed the battle. If you play the game looking at the scoreboard, you end up getting tight. And I thought our guys really enjoyed the moment. It was fun on the sidelines and it was fun in the stadium. I thought the crowd at the end was awesome. So, it was a great experience for our players, and I was happy for them.”

Statistic of the Week

Baylor's 261 yards rushing and three touchdowns against Kansas State was the best overall rushing performance for the Bears against a Power 5 opponent since rushing for 398 yards and two touchdowns in a loss the Texas Longhorns on Oct. 29, 2016. 

On the season the Bears have rushed for 1,044 yards and 13 touchdowns on 224 carries. By comparison, in Matt Rhule's first season in 2017, Baylor rushed for 1,407 yards and 10 touchdowns on 414 carries. Overall, Baylor has improved their yardage per carry from 3.4 in 2017 to 4.7 through six games in 2018.

Players to Watch

Jim Black Clay Johnston The junior linebacker has been completely invisible this season after a promising sophomore campaign. Injuries have played a part, but Johnston will need to overcome those to have his best game of the season against the Longhorns on Saturday.

Jim Black Terrel Bernard Along with Johnston, Bernard will need to have a disruptive game against the run if the Bears stand a chance at winning. That could be said for all of the linebackers and defensive line, but the linebackers need to make an impact that they haven't this season.

Jim Black Johncarlo Valentin Baylor will need to protect Charlie Brewer against pass rush, but most importantly, they will need to find some more success rushing the football. That begins with the interior of the line, specifically junior Johncarlo Valentin.