By Collin Bryant | Sports Writer
Baylor football (1-8) looks to build off its first win when it will take on the Texas Tech Raiders (4-5) who are coming off a 42-35 loss to Kansas State.
The Bears defense will be faced with a challenge, going up against Red Raiders’ senior quarterback Nic Shimonek who has passed for over 3000 yards and 26 touchdowns. However, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule said he believes their defense will be ready to play. Led by players like senior linebacker Taylor Young, who had to play a new position at middle linebacker, and a defensive line who is coming off what Rhule considered to be one their best games.
Rhule said he felt the defensive line played great and that many players are doing a great job rotating in and out.
“I thought our defensive line was fantastic on Saturday. Other than that one long run, they allowed us to stop the run for most of the game,” Rhule said. “There are just a lot of guys on that group that are rotating in and playing. I’m proud of Ira [Lewis] and Brayvion [Roy] and Greg Roberts and Jamie Jacobs and all those guys—the young guys.”
With Baylor still battling injuries on the offensive side of the ball, the Bears will see the return of freshman running back John Lovett. Lovett leads the freshmen in the Big 12 with five touchdowns. Lovett’s return may prove to be paramount in the battle against a 3-4 defense, a set with three down linemen and four linebackers.
Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsburry said in his weekly press conference that Baylor will provide a new look offensively for his defense to prepare for.
“You can tell they’re doing different things conceptually,” Kingsbury said. “Still have a lot of talent and skill players out there, but it’s a different style offense then what we’ve seen in the past from them.”
Rhule said the Red Raiders are a difficult defense to read because of immense capability in their scheme.
“They’re really, really good at what they do. Then defensively, you know it’s another 3-4 team, and we haven’t had a ton of success against the 3-4 teams,” Rhule said. “Typically, when we’re a 4-3 team, our offense will sometimes have to really work hard to be good against something that they don’t see every day.”
The Bears look to secure their second win of the season as they take on the Red raiders in the ninth annual Texas Farm Bureau Shootout at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, at AT&T Stadium.
