Baylor 2022 Season Preview: BYU Cougars
The Baylor Bears have high hopes for the 2022 season, as they will look to repeat as Big 12 champions and potentially find themselves in the College Football Playoffs at the end of the season.
However, despite the high expectations and hopes for the Bears in 2022, they can not afford to look too far ahead, otherwise, they might stumble along the way. The Bears will face their first true test of the season in week two in their first road game.
Baylor will travel to take on future conference foe BYU, as the Bears will look for an early-season statement win to show college football they're just as good in 2022. They should be coming off a week one win over Albany, setting the tone for a potential top-25 matchup between Baylor and BYU in week two.
Be sure to stick with InsidetheBears.com as we preview every aspect of the matchup with the Cougars throughout the week
BYU Cougars
2021 Record: 10-3
Head coach: Kalani Sitake
Sitake is 48-29 in six seasons as the Cougars' head coach
Offensive set: Wide zone
Defensive set: 4-3
Returning starters on offense: 8
The Cougars boasted one of the most explosive offenses in college football in 2021, averaging 33.1 points per game which was 29th in the FBS. They will look to replicate that success in 2022 behind junior quarterback Jaren Hall, who burst onto the college football scene last year. The BYU offense will have to replace Tyler Allgeier at running back, as he ran for 1,601 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2021.
Projected offensive starters:
QB Jaren Hall
RB Chris Brooks
WR Gunner Romney
WR Keanu Hill
WR Puka Nacua
TE Isaac Rex
LT Blake Freeland
LG Clark Barrington
C Connor Pay
RG Campbell Barrington
RT Kingsley Suamataia
Returning starters on defense: 9
The Cougar defense in 2021 had an overall solid season, allowing 388.8 yards per game and 24.8 points per game. However, there does appear to be optimism regarding the BYU defense entering 2022, as the defensive side of the ball returns plenty of continuity that should help the Cougars.
Projected defensive starters:
DL Tyler Batty
DL Gabe Summers
DL Atunaisa Mahe
DL Earl Tuioti-Mariner
LB Payton Wilgar
LB Keenan Pili
LB Max Tooley
CB Kaleb Hayes
S Malik Moore
S Ammon Hannemann
CB D'Angelo Mandell
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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Connor Zimmerlee is a writer and reporter for the FanNation network. Zimmerlee received his Bachelor's of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism with a Master's of Science in Journalism with a Specialization in Sports Media.