Baylor Bears Defense 'Wasn't Surprised' Saturday and That is Frightening
In 2021, the Baylor Bears dominated the Oklahoma State Cowboys defensively, even though they split the two games against them. It was a different story Saturday, as the Cowboys went up and down the field on the Bears repeatedly in a 36-25 road victory.
The scariest part for Bears fans? The defense knew what was coming.
“They kind of threw their fastballs our way, and we couldn’t hit them,” Bears linebacker Dillon Doyle said. “We pretty much had it exactly down to a tee what they were going to run, and we just weren’t able to stop it.”
Still, the Bears allowed 379 total yards and 166 yards on the ground, the first time a team has broken the century mark rushing against them all year long. Cowboys quarterback Spencer Sanders also broke through, garnering 256 total yards and throwing just one interception after throwing seven picks against the Bears last year.
“He’s a super dynamic player, and he always has been,” Doyle said. “He used his speed well, and he broke our contain.”
The Bears have struggled with keeping quarterbacks contained the last two seasons, it has been just about the only vulnerability with this defense. That said, they were also great at stuffing the run, daring quarterbacks to throw against them, and pouncing on their mistakes.
Baylor has been excellent at making teams one-dimensional and not allowing them to create a balanced attack. The Cowboys showed perfect balance Saturday, averaging almost four yards a carry, and Sanders averaging over nine yards a completion. Basically, the Pokes could move the ball however they wanted and whenever they wanted.
For a defense I thought had a legitimate chance to be as good as last year's, Saturday's loss was a huge step back. If they look like that against the West Virginia Mountaineers on October 13, it will be time to hit the panic button.
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You can follow Cameron Stuart on Twitter @RealCamStuart
Covering Baylor for Inside The Bears and the Locked on Baylor podcast. You can follow me for more Baylor content at @realcamstuart on Twitter. Originally from Rockland, Massachusetts and a Baylor alum, so I might mix the occasional bias and/or Boston sports tweet in there every once in a while.