Craven: Style points, not just win, at stake for Baylor against Texas Tech

[caption id="attachment_19103" align="alignnone" width="800"]Photo by Pat Carrigan Photo by Pat Carrigan[/caption] Baylor is presented with a chance this weekend to top TCU without even taking the field against the Horned Frogs. The Bears face a Texas Tech squad this week coming off a nail-biting 55-52 loss to TCU, which gives Baylor a chance to build style points on top of TCU if the Bears can beat Texas Tech by a wider margin. It is true that TCU and Baylor will eventually settle the debate on the field, but in a conference like the Big 12 that holds no conference championship game, style points matter. TCU was ranked ahead of Baylor in most polls entering the season, and the Horned Frogs remain ahead of the Bears through four weeks of the season because the polls tend to not drop people for ugly wins this close into the season. That all changes if Baylor can put a beating on a Texas Tech team that gave TCU all it could handle. And Baylor may have a huge advantage that TCU didn’t: Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes is still questionable this week after suffering an injury during the TCU game. He battled through that injury and was once again great, but his status being up in the air is positive news for Baylor fans hoping to cash in on an unexpected signature win. It says a lot about Texas Tech that the Red Raiders are an important win for either school. Not many people predicted Kliff Kingsbury’s squad would be a gatekeeper of sorts in the Big 12 this season with just a sophomore quarterback, but a win over Arkansas and a valiant loss to TCU opened the eyes in the state of Texas and the rest of the conference. Texas Tech is no joke and Baylor should realize that after watching the TCU film this week. Baylor’s first goal is to win the conference championship, so every game is important. The Bears found out last season how costly a conference loss can be when a loss to West Virginia kept them out of most College Football Playoff discussions centered on the fourth and final spot. Those talks were mostly about Ohio State and a TCU team Baylor beat on the field. Style points matter, even with the expansion to a four-team playoff. Style points matter even more for a school still trying to gain national footing as a true powerhouse. Baylor’s chance to earn those style points starts this weekend.