Browsing: Baylor Football

There is a great awakening in Baylor football and it has everything to do with the Bears’ improvement on defense. Picking up where it left off last season, the defense has made big plays sending a message to the offense that it can get the job done.

A new fear has developed as this hard-nosed, tough and physical defense begins to pose problems for the opposing team. Baylor is always a threat offensively with the ability to score points quickly, and in the past, opponents were able to keep pace. Those days are over. At least that’s what the defense hopes.

After defeating Wofford 69-3 in the season opener, the Bears were expecting a tougher challenge against Buffalo on Saturday afternoon at Floyd Casey Stadium.

For the second time in two weeks, Baylor shattered the school record of most points scored in the modern era with 70 points scored in a 70-13 shellacking of Buffalo.

To open the season, the Buffalo Bulls lost at No. 4 Ohio State 40-20. Considering the previous week’s competitive game Buffalo played against a highly ranked Buckeyes team, Baylor entered the matchup believing Buffalo would pose a threat on the gridiron.

One thing unites everybody during a Saturday afternoon football game: sweat.

By the first quarter, the heat claims a victim. A man lies on the cement beneath the stands. Two police officers and a Baylor student in his line jersey are attending to him while a woman – presumably the man’s wife – looks on at the scene.

Within moments, paramedics arrive, get the man upright and start giving him oxygen.

Buffalo faced No. 3 Ohio State last week and lost 40-20, after Baylor defeated Buffalo 70-13 on Saturday afternoon at Floyd Casey Stadium, Buffalo head coach Jeff Quinn came away with strong remarks regarding the strength of Baylor’s football program.

The No. 23 Baylor Bears (1-0) are coming off of a 69-3 thrashing against FCS opponent Wofford last Saturday. The Bears scored the most points in a game since 1924. They also posted the third most yards in program history with a total of 692.

This Saturday will bring more of a test with FBS opponent University of Buffalo coming down to Waco after a 40-20 loss at Ohio State last Saturday.

Baylor football did what they were expected to do and more in a 69-3 thrashing of FCS opponent Wofford on Saturday night in Waco.

While the Bears’ offense is expected to produce loads of points, most eyes were on the defensive side of the ball.

Baylor has historically been a poor defensive program. In the first half of last season, they ranked last in most FBS statistical categories.

Through seven games, Baylor allowed an average of 553.71 yards per game. That would have broken the all-time record for yards allowed per game if they continued at that porous pace.

Chemistry is not just a science, but also an art. A team can have all the talent in the world, but without chemistry, the team can falter. Just look at the 2012-2013 Los Angeles Lakers and how they flopped with an all-star roster. Fortunately for Baylor’s high-powered offense, the chemistry continues to grow.

Baylor’s offensive firepower has the nation watching as head coach Art Briles has turned the Bears into consistent contenders with a notoriously explosive offensive attack. Baylor put up 692 yards of offense against Wofford, the third most in program history.

If there is one thing that Baylor football does not lack, it’s wide receiver depth. There were some preseason question marks about the lack of experience at the position, even though there is a plethora of raw talent at receiver for the Bears.

Senior inside receiver Tevin Reese and incoming true freshman wide receiver Robbie Rhodes have received immense preseason press, but those two student-athletes are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the wealth of talent at receiver for Baylor.

“We have incredible wide receiver depth this year,” Reese said. “We have a lot of receivers who can play and it’s all about just getting them the ball.”

No. 23 Baylor started the season in superb fashion by decimating FCS opponent Wofford 69-3 on Saturday night at Floyd Casey Stadium.

With all the questions surrounding Baylor football heading into the season with a new quarterback, a revamped offensive line and returning the 113th ranked scoring defense, the Bears resoundingly answered those lingering questions by dominating Wofford in every facet of the game.

After three years of backing up Robert Griffin III and Nick Florence, fourth year junior Bryce Petty played in his first career collegiate start at quarterback.

“Being out there, it was very humbling,” Petty said. “Just a blessing. It wasn’t necessarily a blur, but I was just in the moment.”

Petty looked poised early in the pocket, finishing 7-8 with 113 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter, including a 27-yard bomb to Antwan Goodley in the back of the end zone.

Trouble ensued early in the second quarter when Petty had a stretch of having a ball batted down from his hand for a fumble, dropping a snap and throwing a pass to a defender that was mercifully dropped.

The Baylor Bears started the 2013 season off with a dominating 69-3 win over the Wofford Terriers with a high-octane offensive barrage and an intense defensive effort at Floyd Casey Stadium on Saturday night.

“It’s a great way to start,” head coach Art Briles said. “We know that we certainly have a long way to go. That’s a team that is a very well respected team. Over the last few years they’ve played a lot of football games and won a lot of football games. But, we should be better and we were better. We were tonight. That’s our job. We were at home and we should win. Our thought process going in was, we are going to play Big 12 football.”

The Baylor Lariat Sports Editor Daniel Hill, wrote this football preview taking a look at the Baylor Bears football team position by position. Positions covered include: quarterback, receivers, tight ends, linebackers, running backs, offensive line, defensive line, defensive backs.

Who will come out on top? That’s the burning question many are asking as Big 12 teams went though the offseason. Eights teams are expected to have different quarterbacks this fall and some teams made coaching changes. Texas Tech gained a new coach in Kliff Kingsbury, the former Tech quarterback was Johnny Manziel’s former offensive coordinator at Texas A&M during his Heisman winning season. The Big 12 also didn’t get much respect in the AP poll. No Big 12 team is ranked in the top 10 this season. This was also the first time since 2000 that Oklahoma began outside of the top 10. The Big 12 is up for grabs this year with no obvious clear-cut favorite.

It’s officially game week for the Baylor Bears football team. Fall camp has wrapped up and head coach Art Briles and the players have been working feverishly to game plan for the home season opener versus the Wofford Terriers at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Originally the Bears were scheduled to open up against Southern Methodist University, but SMU recently changed conferences from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference. As a result, the Mustangs replaced the Baylor matchup with a game against Montana State. This forced the Bears to search for an opponent.

Ever since the beginning of the Art Briles era in 2008, Baylor has been characterized by strong receiver play. David Gettis, Kendall Wright, Josh Gordon and Terrance Williams are wide receivers from Baylor who have been drafted since the Briles era began. All four Baylor products are expected to produce for NFL teams this season.

This 2013 team has much of the same talent as other teams that were under the direction of Briles, but the vast majority of this receiving corps is unknown and unproven.

If there’s one thing that junior Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk does not lack, it’s confidence.

“I’m going to win the Heisman. I’m going to win it in 2013,” he said last December.

When recently asked whether he regretted making the Heisman comments, he was clear.

“I said I would win the Heisman because that’s what I believe,” Seastrunk said. “I have conviction. Nobody is going to take that away from me, that I believe I can do it.”

Seastrunk’s journey to this point has been anything but conventional.

Coming off of a third-straight bowl game appearance and second straight bowl win, Baylor football is still hungry for something more: a Big 12 Championship.

Baylor has never won a Big 12 Championship, but this season I think that will change. From top to bottom, this could be the best roster the Bears have ever fielded with head coach Art Briles at the helm.

Fresh off of three straight bowl game appearances and back-to-back bowl wins, Baylor football looks to win the Big 12 Conference this season.

Baylor football concluded spring practice on Saturday with the annual spring game. It was a chance for Baylor fans to get a peak at this fall’s football team.

Having a defense is important to win games. One may think that it’s common sense. There are many examples even throughout Baylor Athletics that support this notion.

Last season, Baylor football played West Virginia early in the season. ESPN was basically giving Gino Smith the Heisman after torching Baylor’s defense for 656 yards and eight touchdowns. However, ESPN didn’t notice the fact that Baylor scored 63 points. Senior quarterback Nick Florence had 581 yards for five touchdowns.

To put it lightly, when Baylor football first went to the Texas Bowl in 2010, it was a big deal. It marked Baylor’s first bowl game appearance since 1994. Baylor nation was happy just to go to a bowl game, never mind actually winning it. But times have changed in Waco. The Bears have won two straight bowl games with the Alamo Bowl against Washington in 2011 and the Holiday Bowl versus UCLA in 2012.

SAN DIEGO – The Baylor Bears will travel back home to celebrate the new year as the champions of the Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl.

SAN DIEGO – At the end of the third quarter, Baylor maintains a commanding 42-13 lead.

SAN DIEGO – Bears lead No. 17 UCLA Bruins 35-10 at halftime of the Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl.

SAN DIEGO – The Baylor Bears got off to a hot start against the UCLA Bruins and currently lead 14-0.

There has been a lot of grumbling as of late.

Grumbling from a lot of people about Baylor football. From fans and commentators, from students and alumni even, nobody seems too pleased with the performance of our football team.

And why should they be?

Let me throw some numbers at you: 9.2 yards allowed per play, 14.6 yards allowed per completion , eight passing touchdowns allowed and zero forced turnovers.

If these stats are the result of your defense’s play, do you really trust them to make a stop late in the fourth quarter? No.

What was seen as a cupcake before conference play five years ago could turn into a tough pill to swallow as the Bears play their first road game of the season against a team playing for the first time at home after shocking the nation: the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

No matter what you say, it is pure fact that last season’s football team was solely dependent on Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III and his ability to make plays either with his feet or his arm.

e time outside Moody Library asking the basic football questions to Baylor students about the 2012 football season

For Baylor football, there is no preseason.

Every snap counts.

“The difference between college, high school football and professional football is that with high school you get scrimmages, with NFL you get preseason games, but with college they blow the whistle and it’s real,” Baylor head coach Art Briles said.