Offense Galore, Defense Optional in Baylor's 43-40 Loss to West Virginia: Bears Notebook
The Baylor Bears entered their Thursday night matchup against the West Virginia Mountaineers looking to bounce back from a loss to Oklahoma State following their bye week. West Virginia, on the other hand, wanted to avoid an 0-3 start in Big 12 play.
What ensued was four quarters of high octane, uptempo offense, and some questionable defense, if you even want to call it defense at all.
Ultimately, the Bears gave up 500 yards of total offense and coughed up three turnovers in a 43-40 shootout loss, moving them to 1-2 in Big 12 play and further decreasing their chances of repeating as conference champions.
Now, here are three key takeaways from Baylor's loss to West Virginia.
MACtion who?
The Mid-American Conference, or the MAC as it is often referred to, has become known for its midweek games that take place on Wednesday or Thursday. Those games are something of a cult classic for college football fans, affectionately known as MACtion, but these two Big 12 foes provided plenty of excitement.
83 total points were scored between the two teams on a combined 1,090 yards of total offense. If you wanted a defensive slugfest, this was not the game for you. This was a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair that the Bears would come out on the losing side of.
Three turnovers too many
Turnovers happen in football. Whether it be a tipped pass or a funky bounce on a fumble, they're inevitable. Sure, you don't want to turn the ball over, but they aren't impossible to overcome and pull out the victory. However, for the Bears, their three turnovers proved costly in their loss.
Two of the Bears' three turnovers led to Mountaineer touchdowns, giving West Virginia an easy 14 points. While their third turnover, an interception thrown by quarterback Kyron Drones, didn't hurt the Bears, turning it over that many times is unacceptable. If Baylor isn't careful, this turnover issue could haunt them down the road with the Big 12 games left on its schedule.
Baylor defense stayed in Waco
When you give up 43 points on 500 yards of total offense, it is abundantly clear your defense decided not to show up for the night. Baylor's three turnovers did the defense no favors, but the Bears couldn't get off the field to save their life seemingly.
Mountaineer quarterback JT Daniels didn't put up video game numbers, but he went an efficient 24-of-37 for 283 yards with a touchdown and interception. However, the real damage was done on the ground. Running back Tony Mathis Jr. gashed the Baylor defense, taking 22 carries for 153 yards and two touchdowns while averaging an impressive 7.4 yards per carry.
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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.