Baylor 62, West Virginia 38: What We Learned

[caption id="attachment_19480" align="alignleft" width="300"]Photo by Will Leverett Photo by Will Leverett[/caption] No. 2 Baylor remained unbeaten on the year with a resounding 62-38 win over West Virginia. What did we learn? DCTF's Mike Craven breaks it down. Baylor made a statement to become the No. 1 ranked team in the nation with a 62-38 victory over West Virginia. It was the Mountaineers that spoiled Baylor’s chance at a spot in the College Football Playoff last season, but the Bears more than made up for it today with its usually offensive explosion. Seth Russell showed a new wrinkle to his game. He’ll never be a true dual-threat like RG3 was at Baylor, but he showed future opponents that his legs must be respected by compiling 160 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He was the Baylor running game for much of the game, but Shock Linwood managed to get it going in the second half and finished with 84 yards and a touchdown. Corey Coleman stole the show. The Baylor wide receiver is on pace to shatter school, Big 12 and national records for receiving touchdowns. In the history of the Baylor program a wide receiver has caught three or more touchdowns in a game just 10 times and four of those are by Coleman this season. He finished the game with 10 catches for 199 yards and three touchdowns. His performance today was spectacular and he’s starting to earn a spot in New York City when the Heisman candidates are elected. The scary part about Baylor is Coleman isn’t the only weapon for Russell to target. Sophomore KD Cannon finished the game with seven receptions for 92 yards, while Jay Lee scored twice in just three receptions. The Baylor offense looks unstoppable, and while the defense continues to struggle giving up big plays, it may not matter with the high-powered offense Baylor possesses. Against a team like TCU, the defense, specifically the secondary, must improve, but it won’t matter against the majority of the remaining schedule. Baylor’s defensive line can be dominant at times. Defensive tackle Andrew Billings is an All-American candidate and a future first round draft pick in the NFL. He gave the Waco faithful a scare when he left with an apparent left leg injury, but he returned to the game after a quick trip to the locker room. Even Shawn Oakman, a freak of nature athlete at defensive end, started to come around in today’s game and show his potential off the edge. The offense remains the story, though. It was the fifth time in six games Baylor scored 60 points this season. The only game it didn’t was in the season-opener against SMU and that game ended at 56-21.