"Keep Chopping Wood"

Shawn Bell: great, great game. I can't help but admit I doubted. I did. But the second you and Shelton completed the first touchdown pass of the fourth quarter, I looked at a friend who was with me at the game and said, "We're going to win this game."

Just Believe.


I know I've given Shawn a very hard time, and this week he just shut my mouth. There was a lot of courage on the field in that last 10 minutes. A lot of courage. Offense and defense, but every pass in that last 10 minute period was fantastic. I don't know what switched the light, but keep it lit. Incredible effort.

I make a vow right now. I choose not to doubt Shawn Bell ever again. I will believe in him, this offense and this team, no matter what.

I'm going to be out of the country, but I have my CSTV All-Access pass working and will be watching the game from England at midnight. I'm looking forward to this offense showing some more of what I saw in the fourth quarter. Playing like that, there aren't many teams that can stay on the field with the Bears.

Bring it home, boys. Just believe. I do.

What a Game! What an Experience!

Man, what a fantastic, fantastic game. Watching from the alumni side of the stands as everyone streamed down to their cars with ten minutes left, I said to a friend, "I hope we come back and win this game so I can throw it in the faces of everyone that is leaving."

Thank you, team, for providing me with the opportunity.

I was there for Kansas in '02. I was there for Colorado in '03. I was there for A&M in '04. It might be the proximity, but the atmosphere at this game was incredible. Perhaps the best I've ever seen it. People stomping on the bleachers, screaming, "DEFENSE! DEFENSE!" Giving Sic 'em, Bears and yelling at the tops of their lungs. Baylor moms and their daughters who just 6 minutes earlier were discussing last nights Pigskin, standing, jumping, screaming and just plain going crazy with every destiny-filled play.

Today I saw what winning and succeeding can mean to Baylor University. Those last 9 minutes the crowd was as intense and passionate as any at Kyle Field, DKR Stadium or any other field I've ever been to. The only thing that came close at those other stadiums was A&Ms OT win over Tech two years ago, a game I attended with my Aggie wife.

But this one beats 'em all. And it happened on Homecoming.

Sic 'em, Bears.

Keys to the Game

So, what are the key things that Baylor needs to do to beat Kansas?

Play to our level, not our opponents level
As I said in the previous post, we need to play at a high intensity level consistently. Come to play, come to win, and play hard for the entire game.


DON'T FUMBLE KICK RETURNS!
We've had SIX fumbles on kick returns. These are the worst turnovers because we are not only handing the ball back to a team we just got it back from, but we are doing so, usually, 30-40 yards down the field. We've just given them a Hail Mary-type play and put them in our backyard. And we are averaging nearly 1 per game. No wonder we are 3-4. This is going to be a key for the rest of the year, because we can't afford to have a two-possession swing in the next five games.

Attack, Attack, Attack!
We put 320 yards passing on Texas, not because it was a fluke, but rather because we went down the field consistently and in great places. Play-calling and ball delivery was a big improvement. We need to keep those attacking ways up, because while an aspect of this offense is "take what they give you", the philosophy behind it is to attack the defense and make them react to you. We did that against Texas better than we had all year. If we do it against Kansas, maybe 1k yards of offense isn't so unbelieveable.

That's MY ball
Defense, they are going to have your ball sometimes, and it's up to you to get it back. Meier has thrown 11 interceptions so far this year and I'd like to see that number hit 15 before he has to go home. CJ, they are calling you overrated. They are calling you a wind-bag. They are saying you played real bad against Texas. I don't know about you, but that sounds like disrespect to me. Prove 'em all wrong tomorrow. You know it's in you.

Sacks and Penalties and Drops, Oh My
While the passing game was an improvement, we have GOT to cut out the sacks for a huge loss. Texas had 5 sacks for 40 yards. FORTY YARDS!! Aside from the sacks, we had ONE rush for negative 2 yards. We lost more yards on sacks than we did on penalties. Shawn, you looked a lot better throwing the ball, but that spin move of yours to get out of trouble is killing us. Just step up into the pocket and deliver the ball.

Penalties were down this week (only 37 yards), but three of them came on the same drive and effectively killed our energy. Get it cleaned up.

Drops have improved, but we are still dropping easy passes. We need to quit that and if the ball hits the hands, it should be a catch. We do that and this offense is going to get white hot.


I thought about putting "Stop the KU running attack" but with Cornish not at 100% and the fact that if we get up quick, they are going to have to start throwing the ball, I don't think it's going to be a KEY to the game. It's important, but I think these things are more important.

Prediction to come this afternoon.

Time to End the Homecoming Game Blues

Let me first say that TDF had a great post below this one. Very accurate. My favorite line is this one:

But let's be honest here, for Baylor, "beatable" means "not a sure loss."

I think that pretty much sums up the feelings of most Baylor fans. And it might be pretty close to the truth, but I think all 5 remaining games are going to be close enough to be toss-ups. We have a much better shot than "not a sure loss" in each of them. Our road matchups are a crumbling Tech team (that will still be favored against us) and an up-and-down OSU team. At home, we have Kansas, who I think we should beat, A&M who we've played very closely and are giving up nearly 300 yards per game passing in conference, and OU who is suffering some injury and off-the-field problems.

But let's focus on Kansas, since we play them tomorrow.

Kansas kinda reminds me of our 2003 team. We had Rashad Armstrong in the backfield (1k yard rusher), but a questionable line, a questionable QB, and a spotty defense. But are we their Colorado?

I really don't see it. They are on the road and it's not just a trip to Manhatten or Lincoln, it's all the way down in Texas. They are 0-3 and their losses are getting worse, and they are the type of losses to kinda addle your brain. Overtime dogfight lost in the first OT period 39-32, after a big comeback. Leading 18-13 and then a minute later losing the game 21-18. Leading 17-0, and then getting blown out in the second half on the way to a 42-32 loss.

These are the types of losses that start to convince you that you are meant to lose games. You aren't supposed to win the game. They are the types of wins that have you sitting around waiting for something (anything!) to happen that hurts your team, and then you throw in the towel because "here we go again".

I know. I'm a Baylor fan.

The good news for us Baylor fans is that our team has overcome that mentality and so we can take advantage of it happening to Kansas. If we can hold them scoreless in the first quarter (half!?) and get a good lead on them, they will likely start to fold themselves. They've done it over and over again.

And Cornish, their best offensive weapon, isn't 100%. That means we don't have to key on the run as much as we would have, and that means our secondary can focus on making Meier's life even worse than his 11 interceptions already this year have made it. Our defense has shown it can be a pretty good run defense when it wants to. It's held excellent rushing teams to less than 2.5 yards per carry and low rushing totals.

But here's the major concern: Our Baylor teams of the last few years play to the level of their competition.

We come into a game with an idea of how it's going to go, and we play to that level. Against WSU we played a tough game that we should have won (IT WAS A FUMBLE!), but the next week we didn't play nearly as well, with nearly the intensity ("It was only Army...") and we got beat. Are we a better team than Army? No question, but only if we play to OUR potential and not to our conception of what their team's abilities are.

Baylor needs to show the killer instinct that has made the good and great teams what they are. We need to play to our potential, not our opponents. We need to come out and play hard for four quarters.

When Morriss first got here, he talked about throwing a blanket over the scoreboard and playing every possession like the score was 0-0. We need to do that again for a different reason. We aren't getting blown out any more, but WE should be delivering some blowouts. And if not blowouts, at least secure 14-20 point wins.

We can do that if we focus and play our brand of football. And I hope that's what I see tomorrow.

Show Me

The table is set for the rest of the season. We need 3 out of 5 to be bowl eligible. The dynamics have changed somewhat since the beginning of the season and even since conference play started. Tech and OU all of a sudden look very beatable. But let's be honest here, for Baylor, "beatable" means "not a sure loss." Let's go over the remaining schedule to see what's coming up:

People have already started to leave KU for dead. I think these people are one game too early. You know the Jayhawks are looking at us as "beatable" as well. This is a coach and program that was arguably in worse shape than Baylor not too long ago (Steele's only Big 12 win) but have been bowling since. They will be looking to get well against us. If we do beat them, then I think they roll over for the rest of the season. Don't get me wrong, I see the stats and the common opponets and all of that too. We play a good game and we probably win. But would you put your house on that happening? Would it suprise anyone if we come out shooting ourselves in the foot? Didn't think so. We need to show up, man up, and win this one.

A&M isn't looking as beatable as they did to begin the year. MU was a solid team regardless of who they had played to that point. I think the only reason the Kanas game was close was because aggy is a below average passing team and couldn't exploit KU's most glaring weakness. If we don't get two scores ahead somehow and take the ball out of Lane's hands (I don't think we can stop him), we will be in trouble.

Tech to me is Jekyl/Hyde. We know that Leach's system can work. We know that they haven't been consistent with it this season. We're going to have to do like last year. Hopefully, our offense won't leave the defense for dead after keeping the team in it all game.

I haven't seen anything on OSU. I saw the score and read about the big comeback against Kansas but that's it. I think they are a dangerous team. They have plenty of athletes and are capable of making plays despite Gundy on the sideline. This game being on the road also concerns me.

Everyone is also saying that OU is a possible win now too. I know Peterson is done for the regular season but he didn't play last year against us either. Instead we made Mr. 4th string Jacob Guttierrez look like Walter Payton. Does anyone believe that Bomar was that much better than Paul Thompson? By the time we get to this game, it will be interesting to see if we are playing for something or if OU is for that matter.

First thing's first though. We don't want to have to start imagining scenarios if we lose to the Jayhawks. Having to win 2 out of 4 looks much better than 3 out of 5. People keep saying that the Bears are going to do it. Now is the time to actually show it. Saying you are better is not the same as actually going out there and doing it. Show me.

OSU Coach Spits On KU Player

It's at about the 30 second mark on the video above and you can clearly see the guy in the orange shirt standing over the player and lean over and spit on him.

This is unbelieveable!!

OSU should move quickly and fire this guy. That is completely unacceptable behavior. We will see how the school handles itself in the way they deal with this situation and what type of athletics department they are running up there in Stillwater.

Weekly Press Conference

Baylor football had its weekly press conference leading up to the Kansas game, and there were some very interesting things said.

Guy Morriss believes that the next five games are all winnable and also all loseable. Well, the first thing that pops in my head is, "Duh." But then I think about it. This is a good team, with some solid talent, but we still do have a long way to go before we can even think about sleep-walking through a game. Kansas in particular is a game that we can dominate from wire to wire, but only if we approach it with the same intensity that we did the Texas game.

I think that's key. We've shown the propensity to play to the level of our competition. #5 team in the nation? OK, we'll pass for 300 yards and hold them to their third lowest rushing total of the year. Army, no problem, we'll let you run on us and hang around long enough to beat us. If we don't cut that stuff out, we definitely could lose all five games. If we learn to play with intensity and determination no matter the opponent, we can win out and finish 7-1 in conference. I'd settle for 5-3 and a bowl game, though.

Coach Hays mentioned that he wants to play a bit more physical brand of football. That's good to hear. The problem with the spread offense is that by its very nature, it doesn't develop a toughness along the lines and in the players. Especially if the player buy into the fact that this is a finesse offense. I do like that we are seeing wide receivers blocking down field (although if Zeigler would have finished his block on the last TD against Texas, there wouldn't be any controversy about it).

Nick Moore had this quote:

We really want to show our fans that we are the team that we keep saying we are. We just need to keep working hard and eventually we will get respect."

I like that Moore recognizes that the team isn't quite performing as well as they say they are. They are a 3-4 team. They might be one of the better teams in the Big XII, but they don't play like it all the time. The fact that they realize it and are wanting to prove they are as good as they think/say they are makes me feel better about the Kansas game.


If you'd like to check out the transcript of the entire press conference, you can go here to check it out on the Baylor Official Athletics site.