Published Nov 29, 2024
Opposing View: Beat writer Zach Smith previews the Baylor game
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Jon Kirby  •  JayhawkSlant
Publisher- Football Editor
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@jayhawkslant

To get a closer look at Saturday's game, we spoke with Zach Smith, who covers the Baylor football program for the Waco Tribune-Herald.

Baylor has been on a winning streak since the Iowa State game. What are some things that changed since the 2-4 start that has playing good football?    

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The biggest things that sparked the winning streak are the offensive line finding five guys who fit together and quarterback Sawyer Robertson.

Robertson has been a revelation. He stepped into the starting role in the second game of the season, for injured Toledo transfer Dequan Finn, and hasn't looked back. He leads the Big 12 and ranks sixth in the country in total QBR (83). He has 22 touchdown passes (tied for sixth in a season in Baylor program history) and four touchdown runs this season with just four interceptions.

Last year, the Baylor offensive line was literally the worst in the Big 12 and one of the worst in the country. Over the last six games, the Bears have found some cohesion up front and rank seventh in the country in fewest TFLs allowed and 31st in sacks allowed.

Break down the Baylor offense. What style do they want to play and who are a few of the key playmakers?

Baylor implemented a spread offense under first-year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, and has improved by leaps and bound from last season under Jeff Grimes. The Bears rank 43rd in the country in total offense (419.2), an improvement of 30 spots from a season ago, when they finished the season ranked 73rd overall in total offense (377.8 jpg). They are 44th in the country in rushing offense (179 ypg) and 50th overall in passing offense (240.2 ypg) this season.

Certainly, Robertson's emergence has helped, but so has redshirt freshman running back Bryson Washington who ranks third in the nation among freshmen in rushing yards (812) and rushing touchdowns (10), and set a new program record with five 100+ yard games.

Junior receiver Josh Cameron, a former walk-on who didn't have a TD grab coming into this year, has become Robertson's favorite target, leading the receivers with 541 yards and eight touchdowns.

At 6-foot-4, 246 pounds, tight end Michael Trigg, a transfer from Ole Miss/USC, is a mismatch for just about any defense and had his best game last week against Houston, scoring a touchdown and finishing with a career-high 96 receiving yards.

The thing about the Baylor offense, especially over the last five games, is that it is so deep at both receiver and running back, any player could go off on any given day. Other than maybe Washington, there hasn't been one consistent focal point.

What kind of defense does Baylor play and who are some players to watch?

This is an interesting one. Head coach Dave Aranda is calling the defensive plays for the first time in his five-year Baylor tenure and is the defensive coordinator in everything but title. There have been some mixed results, as the Bears have allowed 28 or more points in four of their last five games.

The strength of the group is in the front seven. Linebacker Keaton Thomas' 100 tackles lead the team and ranks second in the Big 12. Sixth-year senior linebacker Matt Jones is one of two players on the team that are still around from the 2021 Big 12 Championship team and is second on the team and third in the conference with 94 tackles and leads the team with four sacks.

Along the defensive line, Treven Ma'ae (4.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks) and Jackie Marshall (5.5 TFLs, 3 sacks) have become really consistent performers.

The weakness is the secondary. Despite ranking in the middle of the Big 12 in passing yards allowed, they've given up more than 300 yads through the air in four of their seven conference games. They did come down with a season-high three interceptions last Saturday against Houston, but the Cougars' offensive is woeful.

If you had to list the strengths and weaknesses of this Baylor team what would they be?    

I kind of touched on this earlier, but this Baylor offense can go toe-to-toe with just about anyone. They have the playmakers to spread the ball around and the athletes to make big plays when they matter most.

Maybe the more impressive part about the group is the confidence with which they operate. Multiple times in the win over Texas Tech, the Red Raiders threw punches and the Bears punched right back. The same thing happened against Oklahoma State. Spavital and Aranda trusted the offense to pick up a huge first down on fourth-and-long to go for the win against TCU.

The weakness is the secondary.

Caden Jenkins was an All-American as a true freshman last season, but hasn't been the same player this year and has been susceptible to pass interference calls. His fellow star sophomore DB Carl Williams was playing great but is out for the regular season after having knee surgery.

How do you see this matchup against Kansas and do you have a prediction?    

I think we're going to see a lot of points on Saturday. Kansas is playing better than anyone in the conference right now (kind of like the Bears a few weeks ago) and Baylor showed some cracks last week against Houston.

This is my second year on the Baylor beat and I'm kind of expecting this team to revert to the norm at some point.

Baylor has won its last 13 games against Kansas and is a perfect 11-0 when the Jayhawks come to Waco.

My prediction is Kansas will jump out to an early lead, Baylor will close the gap in the second to third quarter and the Jayhawks will score a couple times late in a double-digit win over the Bears.

Kansas- 42

Baylor- 31

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