Even with No. 9 Texas on deck, Baylor not focused on their opponent
Baylor being concerned primarily about themselves has been part of the process from day one under Matt Rhule, but the idea of not worrying much about a top ten Texas team with a scheduled game in Austin Saturday is getting more attention than any other time in the last 18 games.
Attention to detail and controlling what can be controlled have been keys no matter the opponent lining up on the other side of the line of scrimmage. The premise didn't sound appealing to fans when the Bears were sitting at 0-6 this time a season ago, but now 4-2 in 2018, this whole idea could be beginning to catch on.
“I told (the team) all the time in camp how special I think they are," Rhule said. "I said, you’re believing in what we’re doing, you’re doing it day-in and day-out, without any evidence. It’s just faith right now. And when you start to win, you’ll say it’s all worth it, it will all make sense. But when you’re doing it and you’re not winning, it’s completely different."
After starting the season 2-0, the Bears have seen more than a couple ups and downs in their journey to two wins and two losses. Drops by receivers against Duke and self-inflicted wounds early against Oklahoma put the Bears in big holes in their losses, while offensive and defensive execution early against Kansas and forced turnovers against Kansas State pushed them forward to victories.
The wins weren't perfect, but there were large differences in the performances that were controlled only by the Bears.
"When we beat ourselves and have penalties, and have drops, and have missed assignments, and give up big plays, then we’re not going to win," Rhule said. "When we play good, clean football and we’re playing the right way, we have a chance to win.
"I think our guys are buying into that. I think they’re recognizing we’re trying to build an identity. We’re trying to be tough, we’re trying to be hard working, we’re trying to be competitive in everything that we do, and I see it."
That mentality goes for both the offense and the defense this weekend against Texas, sometihing they will definitely need an a
Longhorn quarterback Sam Ehlinger played the best game of his career against the Oklahoma Sooners in a victory, completing 68.6 percent of his passes for 314 yards and rushing 19 times for 72 yards while scoring five total touchdowns.
It will be a tough task for the Baylor defense, a unit that has given up two handfuls of explosive plays for touchdowns the last two weeks, but sophomore defensive lineman James Lynch knows the key to improvement is playing within themselves.
"For us as a team and defense, we always focus on us so we’re never worry about anything," Lynch said. "Knowing (Ehlinger) can move obviously makes us want to maybe contain more, but if we focus on us and do what we’re supposed to, and we rush and keep our pass rush lanes, we’ll be fine."
If the defense needs evidence of finding success by doing the small things, they don't need to search outside their own locker room to find it.
"That’s what it really comes down to," junior offensive lineman Johncarlo Valentin said. "When we do the little things, the big things will follow. So like penalties, small things. If you look at most of our games it’s really just the small things that really kill us in our game. We take pride in that, doing the little things and allowing the big things to happen."
Though it wasn't perfect, the Baylor rushing attack suddenly found a strong pulse against Kansas State Saturday, rushing for 261 yards and three touchdowns on 48 carries. The performance was the second most rushing yards the Wildcats have surrendered since the beginning of the 2016 season.
It will be a different type of test for the line on Saturday as the Longhorns present arguably the best defense the Bears will face the entire season.
"For the offense, when we say focus on us, like I said, the little things, and just going out and doing what we can do because the plays are there," Valentin said. "The plays are there. The big plays are definitely there. The explosives, all that stuff. When we say focused on us, we mean that."
Don't mistake 4-2 and beating teams that should be beat as the ultimate goal. What it is, however, is a big step in the right direction. A win over the No. 9-ranked Longhorns this weekend seems unlikely, but when the first headline victory comes, it will be a turning point for the entire program as much as the multitude of small steps have been.
"When you can finally say that, instead of saying, 'hey, someday it’s going to be worth it, when you can say was all the work worth it? Yes, it was. Great. That’s when the guys really start to believe in the process that you’re doing," Rhule said.