From the other side: is Bears’ 0-7 record an accurate portrayal of Baylor team?

By Steve Lansdale

At first glance, Saturday’s game at Baylor looks like a laugher, a game Texas should win without breaking a sweat. After all, the Longhorns’ neighbors an hour and half up I-35 do boast a hard-to-defend 0-7 record this season. Included in that run from glory are back-to-back losses — home losses, no less — to start the season against noted powers Liberty and Texas-San Antonio.

Two weeks into September, pundits across the country were writing off Baylor’s season, some even claiming the hiring of head coach Matt Rhule was a mistake that couldn’t be corrected while he was steering the Bears’ ship.

Were those assessments accurate? Not necessarily.

It’s true that [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]the optics created by home losses to Liberty and UTSA are awful, and for a fan base looking for virtually anything to help forget the scandal that led to a PR scandal and at least contributed to the dismissal of former head coach Art Briles, those two games were disastrous. The Bears had pried Rhule away from Temple University and deemed him the guy who would get the program back on the winning path. Maybe he will, but thus far, the evidence is not there. But while the victories have yet to arrive, there are reasons for optimism. After all, this is a team that scared Oklahoma before falling, 49-41, in Norman, and only lost by two points (38-36) this week to No. 23 West Virginia.

To make that judgement after seven games, of course, is nothing short of idiotic. Baylor lost a lot of talent from last year’s roster, and Rhule and his staff had to recruit under the cloud of not yet knowing the full extent of whatever punishment lay ahead for the program. He is in his first year at the helm, has a team on which every player is in his first year in a new system, and most of those players were recruited to play in another system for another coach. A learning curve is more than justifiable.

“I said (to the Baylor team that) none of those kids are here by accident,” Rhule said. “They were all chosen to be there, and they are strong enough to go through this. Somebody had to go through this for Baylor, and somebody has to go through this tough time, and the men — I’ll say ‘the men’ — the doctors, the trainers, the administrators, the coaches, the players especially … they’re enduring this tough time.

But before anyone starts assuming that the Bears are the college equivalent of the Washington Generals, think again. Yes, they were taken apart by Oklahoma State — the same OSU team that just edged Texas in overtime — but outside of that game, Baylor has yet to lose by more than two touchdowns and only twice has lost by more than seven points. So it’s not like an untalented team with no pride is being rolled out and fed to bigger, hungrier opponents as sacrificial lambs.

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger should have a realistic chance to continue his improvement against a Baylor defense that has been generous this season, allowing opponents an average of 39.7 points — three opponents have scored 48 or more — and 514.1 yards of total offense per game.

Chances are at least decent that the Longhorns will see two quarterbacks on the field for the Bears, who average more than twice as many passing yards (281.4) than rushing yards (134.0) — numbers that admittedly are skewed by the fact that Baylor has spent much of the season playing from behind and therefore has to throw in an effort to catch up. Zach Smith is the starter and has completed 99 of 185 passes this year (53.5 percent), with eight touchdown passes and six interceptions. But Baylor fans are enamored with backup Charlie Brewer, the true freshman who led a comeback that fell just short in last week’s 38-36 loss to West Virginia.

Rhule was asked if both quarterbacks will play against UT, and said there is a good they will, but added that he is concerned about the Texas defense.

“We’ve done that (played both) the last four games, so I don’t know why this would be different,” he said. “We’ll probably have a package for Charlie ready to go … I think the biggest thing is that this is such a hard defense to prepare for. You can’t be random with what you want to do. They’re so hard to attack schematically and talent-wise that we have to be really sharp in the way we decide to do it. We’ll see if we can put some things together if it’s Zach (Smith), and if it’s Charlie, we’ll put him in there and see what happens.”

The running game is led by John Lovett, who has rushed 79 times for 403 yards (5.1 yards per carry) and four touchdowns; no other Bear has rushed for more than 155 yards through seven games. Meanwhile, the Baylor defense has been equally porous against the run and the pass, surrendering 223.6 yards per game and 15 touchdowns on the ground, and 290.6 yards per game and 17 passing touchdowns this season.

Rhule has endured an enormously frustrating first season in Waco, and while he has been given ample evidence that his team is improving, he knows the challenge facing the Bears Saturday is significant.

“Well, they just have elite players,” Rhule said of the Longhorns. “They have tremendous talent. Their receivers are as fast as any we’ve seen. They have two great quarterbacks. I know Sam (Ehlinger) is banged up a little bit right now, but Shane (Buechele) can really play, and (Jerrod) Heard can play. They have got great players and great skill across the board … and defensively, they have a tremendous defensive line. Their nose tackle, Poona Ford, is as good as we’ve seen. They have great players, and I think Todd Orlando, on defense, does a good job of taking away what you do well and attacking you in all areas. You have to be ready for the blitz. They’re No. 1 in the conference right now on third down. They get off the field better than anybody.

“They have great players, a great scheme and a toughness about them, so it’ll be a real challenge for our offense. It’ll come on third down and trying to run the football. Defensively for us, they get the ball on the perimeter, and those guys can go, so there are great players and a great scheme to go along with it.”

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