Gameday Thread: Baylor (5-6) looks for sixth win against Texas Tech (5-6)

BAYLOR (5-6) vs. TEXAS TECH (5-6)

AT&T Stadium| 11:00 a.m CT | FS1

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Storylines of the Week

Can Baylor take advantage of opportunity number three?

Iowa State and TCU were both chances that Baylor had to become bowl eligible and Baylor could not come through with a win. Now the Texas Tech game is a must win situation if Baylor wants to continue this season. You know the coaches and players would love to have the extra month of practice time to go along with one more opportunity to gain momentum heading into next season. The Bears could use this for all the young players on the roster and to just clean up all the issues that have plagued them throughtout the season. In order for all these positives to happen Baylor has to take care of business Saturday.

38-37-1 in favor of Texas Tech

That record may not mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things but I think it speaks more broadly to the state of both programs. Yes Texas Tech has the one game lead in the series and Baylor would love to tie it up but that is not the storyline.  Baylor got a new coach and won one game a year ago but have at least improved that total by four games this season. On the other side, Texas Tech is 35-39 in six seasons under Kliff Kingsbury. They have been completely average under him aside from one year when they won eight games with Tommy Tubberville’s players in Kliff’s first year. Texas Tech might decide to move on from Kliff regardless of the result of this one but one thing is for sure even if he isn’t fired, if Baylor wins this game they will have tied the overall record and taken firm control of the momentum between these two programs. The record may not matter but the direction of the programs COULD be influenced quite a bit by this one game in the last meeting between the two at Jerry World.

Quote of the Week

“I want the guys to take advantage of the opportunity this weekend. What one guy sees as excitement the person calls pressure. All of this is tremendous opportunity. This game is the most important game because it is the next one on our schedule. At the end of the year, if we win this game it will mean no more than the other five wins if we are able to make it to a bowl game. If we end up losing this loss wouldn’t mean any more than the Duke loss. We have to move on from Saturday because we have one more opportunity this week. If we don’t do our job on Saturday, there is no more “What’s Next” because the season is over. I want these guys to recognize that it’s just another game. Last year we went into TCU and played for pride and we are now going to fight for another win to get to a bowl game and extend this season. We just need to go play football and see if we can come out on the winning side and go play in a bowl game”. — Matt Rhule

Statistic of the Week

Baylor senior wide receiver Jalen Hurd has an opportunity to notch a 1,000-yard receiving season on Saturday against Texas Tech. WIth 905 yards on 66 receptions, Hurd needs just 95 yards in the season finale to reach the mark. 

With a 1,000-yard rushing season as a sophomore at Tennessee in 2015, Hurd would be one of a select few college players to reach the mark for a season in both categories in a career.

Through 11 games in 2018, Hurd has totaled 1,114 yards and seven touchdowns. In his four-year career, Hurd has 4,244 total yards and 33 touchdowns on 770 career touches. 

Players to Watch

SicEm365 JaMycal Hasty Baylor will need production from all over the offense if the Bears have a chance to find victory. That includes at the running back position, specifically running back JaMycal Hasty who totaled 124 total yards last year against Tech.

SicEm365 Charlie Brewer Brewer had a strong showing against Texas Tech last fall, but multiple crucial turnovers killed Baylor’s chances to win. Brewer completed 68 percent of his passes for 417 yards and three touchdowns in 2017.

Jim Black Denzel Mims Mims has been very quiet the last two weeks, totaling six receptions for 70 yards and a score against Iowa State and TCU, with only one receptions for 27 yards against TCU. Mims grabbed 12 receptions for 152 yards and a score last season.