BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
HEAD COACH: MATT RHULE 6-17 at Baylor (3rd year); 36-40 (8 years)
Last year: 7-6 (4-5 in conference)
September 28 Iowa State visits Waco. November 16 Oklahoma visits Waco. The following week Texas come a calling. If the Baylor Bears win one of these three games it could be a very good season. If they win two, expect them in the Big Twelve championship game. By the way, Baylor is a good home team and have rejuvenated their program the past two seasons with Matt Rhule as their leader. I like what Rhule is doing on the Brazos and they are currently upgrading the program getting the better recruited athletes that will give them a chance to play with OU and Texas, not only in 2019, but for the following years to come.
Offense: Starts with Charlie Brewer, who is effective as a passer and runner with great leadership skills. Add some great pass catchers led by Denzel Mims, in the top class of receivers in the nation. Chris Platt gets his sixth season with the Bears and is another exciting player that is fast and has exceptional hands. This tall (Mims at 6’3) and short (Platt 5’10) twosome will wreck opposing secondary’s and the young backups are talented and of high quality. The feature back will be by committee. The runners are of high quality too. JyMycal Hasty, short and strong (5’9 195lbs) will team with Trestan Ebnrr and Tyquan Thorton. They are also fine receivers. The offensive linemen are good run blockers but need to improve their pass protection. With the added year of experience, that should happen. In sum, the Baylor offense will be experienced and productive. Offense Grade: B+
Defense: The strength of this side of the ball lends itself to the league as the secondary and linebackers will be staffed with proven players. They should be above average against the pass. The defensive line is average at best. The key is making the other team’s offense to turn it over as BU was last in the league in 2018 with only ten takeaways. A better pass rush is needed and with an upgrade in talent in Waco, the starters will be pushed which in turn should make this defense better this year. Defense Grade: C+
Special Teams: Improvement in the kicking game and a new punter should make this group better. Grade: C
Looking at Baylor in 2019, a upgrade in total talent continues to evolve and with a strong offense Baylor can contend for the Twelve title game like the better teams. Sure, OU and Texas are the prohibitive favorites, but I like what is taking place with Rhule and the Bears. They will be a bitch to beat at home and with the most significant games in Waco, it would be silly to count them out. Brewer and Mims will make for some exciting times with the Baylor Nation.
Games Baylor will win: Stephan F. Austin (H); UTSA (H); Rice (A); Kansas (A)
Games Baylor should win: Kansas State (A); Texas Tech (H); West Virginia (H)
Toss-up games: Iowa State (H); Oklahoma State (A); TCU (A)
Games Baylor will be dogs: Oklahoma (H); Texas (H)
2019 Prediction: 9-3 (conference: 6-3)
(As of this 8th post on my Big Twelve pre-season preview, my previous rankings are:
4. TCU; 5. ISU; 6. OSU; 7. TT; 8. WV; 9. KSU; 10. KU
