Baylor 63, Texas Tech 35: What We Learned

Baylor TD2Baylor came away from AT&T Stadium in Arlington with a big win over Big 12 rival Texas Tech. What did we learn from this game? DCTF's Greg Tepper breaks it down.The fuse on this Baylor offense is short. It doesn’t take much to get the Bears’ attack going, does it? From the word go, Baylor’s offense was off to the races en route to a staggering 8.9 yards per play. To say that the Bears’ offense is good isn’t specific enough — it’s that Baylor’s attack, especially when the running game of RB Shock Linwood is churning, has the ability to turn any play into a big one. That’s a rare feature for an offense, and one that sets Baylor apart from pretty much every other team in the nation.Texas Tech’s defense could be historically bad. Through five games, Texas Tech’s defense has allowed 2,905 yards of total offense for a cool average of 581 yards per game. The current record for most yards allowed per game by a team is 553, set by Maryland in 1993. Now, the Red Raiders are not going to be facing the likes of TCU and Baylor’s offenses every week, but there are still some explosive attacks — like Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and West Virginia — left on the schedule. We knew the Red Raiders’ defense was going to be problematic this season…but if it doesn’t take steps to limit the damage, it may end up in the record books for all the wrong reasons.The Bears’ defense passed its first test, with a C-minus. For all intents and purposes, this was the first real test of the season for Baylor. And while the offense is a relatively known commodity, there were still major questions about the defense. The Bears did give up a boatload of yards — 636, including 530 through the air — but it did enough to stem the tide, including forcing four key turnovers. That is the way that Baylor can win — not by being a dominant defense (that ship has likely sailed) but by being a timely one. The most encouraging sign for Baylor was stuffing Texas Tech’s running game, something various squads preceding them have failed to do. It’s a passing grade for the Baylor defense, but there’s still work to do, and tough tests on the horizon.