Best Case/Worst Case for 2016: Baylor Bears

[caption id="attachment_24881" align="alignright" width="350"]October 17, 2015: during the NCAA Football game between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium Stadium in Waco, Texas. Photo by Shane Roper[/caption] Will this season be a dream or a nightmare for your favorite FBS program in the state of Texas? In this series, we take a look at the best and worst case scenarios for all 12 teams. Baylor 2015 Record: 10-3Best Case Baylor isn’t short on talent. The Bears took an obvious hit to program momentum and reputation across the board, but the players still on the roster can win football games for new head coach Jim Grobe. Quarterback Seth Russell is an all-conference candidate and running back Shock Linwood might be the most electric ball carrier in the state. Combine that with a solid offensive line led by Kyle Fuller, and a plethora of weapons on the outside, and Baylor will put up points. The defense should be above average at linebacker and in the secondary. The question on that side of the ball is the defensive line, and some of that might be remedied with a three-man front. As always, Baylor’s out-of-conference schedule is cake. The Bears will start 3-0 with wins over Northwestern State, an improved SMU team and Rice. Wins against Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Kansas are sure to follow, putting Baylor at 6-0 when it travels to Texas. A revenge victory in Austin builds enough momentum to knock off TCU and Oklahoma in the following weeks. A showdown of offensive gluttony against Texas Tech would be the biggest hurdle left between Baylor and a conference championship. Maybe even a berth into the College Football Playoff. Worst Case Adversity is tricky. It can bring teams together or tear teams apart. Baylor fans are hoping for the former, but the latter is quite possible. The bad news hasn’t stopped for the Bears since a loss at Texas ended the 2015 regular season. If Seth Russell gets hurt again, the depth at quarterback is no longer there with Jarrett Stidham gone. The Bears will be forced to play young players thanks to attrition, and that talent pool of young players was significantly depleted by the mass departure of the 2016 recruiting class. A 3-0 start is still likely for Baylor due to the level of opponents, but the wheels could easily fall off at home against Oklahoma State. A three-game stretch against Texas, TCU and Oklahoma could put the Bears on the edge of bowl eligibility with three games remaining. To reach six wins, Baylor must beat Northwestern State, SMU, Rice, Iowa State, Kansas and one of the other Big 12 opponents on the schedule. A home game against Kansas State might tilt the worst case scenario from a .500 season to one ending without a bowl game and no future direction for a once burgeoning program.

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