Gameday Thread: Baylor (5-4) hits the road to take on #22 Iowa State (5-3)

Baylor (5-4) vs. Iowa State (5-3)

Jack Trice Stadium| 2:30 p.m CT | FS1

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Storylines

Run the football…..if you can.

Baylor has been very good when they have been able to run the football. When they have reached the 200 yard mark they are 3-0 this year so there is definitely a need to run it for the offense to be successful. Unfortunately the Bears have struggled to run the football on the road this year and are about to face the best run defense they have seen. Iowa State ranks 14th in the nation in run defense despite playing a relatively tough schedule. The Cyclones will be ready to stop the run with just a three man front in this one and force Baylor to throw against eight secondary players. Baylor cannot allow that to happen or they will not be able to move the ball at all. The Bears have to force Iowa State to commit at least four players to the run especially on early downs. The magic number is 150, if Baylor can run for that many yards they will have a very good shot at winning on the road.

Bowl Eligibility?

Of the remaining games this one is probably the least likely but it still could happen. This has been the clear goal for this team all season long after winning just one game a season ago. The win over Oklahoma State gives Baylor a great opportunity to make this goal a reality. With remaining game @Iowa State, TCU, and Texas Tech in Dallas the Bears have a shot to get to more than just six wins. The importance of making a bowl should not be downplayed. It impacts recruiting, practice time for all the young players on the roster, and it solidifies a competitive confidence that comes from trusting in the process. I am not sure if the Bears will make it happen in this game but this storyline has been the biggest one of the season and this is Baylor’s first chance at making it happen.

Quote of the Week 

"The first thing I'll say is Julie and I went to the introductory celebration for the Give Light campaign. 1.1 billion, that number blows me away. And to have 541 million already raised, I thought that was really cool. This is a beautiful campus and whether it's the Welcome Center or the Tidwell building, all those things, I think everything we do to continue to improve as an overall University, to become a tier one research university, to attract the top professors, just makes us better. I don't just worry about football, I want us to be part of something excellent. I think the whole campaign is awesome. For us, number one I'm excited about a new basketball fieldhouse. I'm excited to increase our home field advantage and increase recruiting. Imagine if you give Coach Mulkey and Coach Drew that, what they're going to do, I mean come on. I'm fired up about that. For us, I'm excited to have a football operations building. It's going to open up so many opportunities for all of our other student-athletes. We use one weight room, so if we're in there it means track has to lift at 5 or 6 a.m. It means women's volleyball is lifting at 8 at night. At the end of the day, all of our sports are important. To have a football operations center, to get us out of this building, where we can have locker rooms and meeting rooms and nutrition and weight rooms and training facilities, I think that helps our student-athletes as they develop their welfare. At the same time, it opens up locker room facilities, this entire building for the rest of our student-athletes. I think it's such a win-win. It's going to be a gamechanger for us in recruiting. I certainly am grateful to Dr. Livingstone and Mack [Rhoades] for their commitment towards the future. We have the most beautiful football stadium, beautiful facilities and if we continue to add to them, we'll continue to build the program, the entire athletic department. After the game, I try not to watch Twitter but I was so touched by the volleyball team celebrating in Norman. That's what's really cool about this place. All the athletes support each other. I think this will be a win-win for our entire athletic department and also our entire University."

Statistic of the Week

In 2017, Baylor lost six games by an average of less than a touchdown, including two losses by a combined five points. The tide has turned so far for the Bears in 2018 in close games.

Three of Baylor's five wins in 2018 have been decided by six or less points. In those three games the Bears are 2-1, including a three-point victory over Kansas State at home, a six-point loss to Texas on the road, and a four-point victory over Oklahoma State at home. 

Each of those games came down to potential game winning drives for the Bears. Those three drives averaged 11 plays for 70.3 yards, taking an average of roughly 2:20 off the clock. The Bears kicked a game winning field goal to defeat the Wildcats, narrowly missed the game winning touchdown pass against the Longhorns, and completed a game winning touchdown pass over Oklahoma State.

Baylor sophomore quarterback Charlie Brewer led each of the drives, completing a total of 11 passes for 106 yards and one touchdown.  

Players to Watch

SicEm365 Clay Johnston Iowa State running back David Montgomery is one of the best in the country at breaking tackles. If Baylor has a chance at limiting ISU's emerging offense, Johnston will to perform as he did against Oklahoma State.

Jim Black Derrek Thomas The Big 12 is full of long and fast receivers meaning that the senior corner will be tested every week. This week is no different as Thomas will likely be matched up with Hakeem Butler, Iowa State's No. 1 wide receiver. Thomas will need to hold his own.

Jim Black Charlie Brewer There is definitely a need for the offensive line to play well, but the fact is that they are what they are. If Brewer can play one of his better games of the season, the Bears will be in it until the end. That will be tough against Iowa State's unique defense.