Wednesday Walkthrough: Baylor Week

We take a look at what Lance Leipold had to say ahead of the Jayhawks' Week 8 meeting with the Baylor Bears

Momentum has swung away from the Kansas Jayhawks over the last couple of days. It's not for lack of effort, of course, suffering two losses back to back by just seven and 10 points, respectively. But after rising to prominence as arguably the best story in college football following a 5-0 start, KU is back outside the AP Top 25 and is still searching for the all-important sixth win.

Enter another road trip and enter the Baylor Bears, the preseason favorites to win the Big 12 who have since started the year 3-3 and have also dropped consecutive games. They've even lost those contests in similar fashion to KU's last two defeats; both the Jayhawks and Bears lost two weeks ago to a ranked team at home before losing to unranked team on the road last Saturday. It goes without saying that this weekend means a great deal for both Lance Leipold's and Dave Aranda's programs.

LISTENING IN ON LANCE

"Jalon is not practicing right now, neither is Cobee. That's as far as I'll take it."

It's not good news but it's also not unexpected news on the injury front for the Jayhawks this week. Leipold was quick and curt with the injury report this week as two of KU's biggest breakout stars and most important players, quarterback Jalon Daniels and Cobee Bryant, are out of practice. Daniels is still recovering from a shoulder injury suffered against TCU, while Bryant suffered a lower-body injury in the loss to Oklahoma last weekend.

"We'll battle for 60 minutes, I'm proud of that in all circumstances...People that watch this football team that I highly respect and interact with talk about how this team plays hard, and I feel the same way."

Even after suffering a second straight defeat, Leipold remained optimistic about KU during his press conference this week. He added that he thought the Jayhawks were hesitant in some situations against a Sooners team with its backs against the wall, but still made sure to start his retrospective with the bright side of last week's game.

"He's a pretty flat-lined guy, which is good, it's hard to get a read sometimes with him. He's a pretty cool customer, it isn't like he gets rattled."

Jason Bean was far from perfect against Oklahoma but still posted some gaudy numbers in his first start of the season. Leipold complimented Bean's demeanor and said he "didn't flinch" against OU, although conceded there were also some plays he'd certainly like to have back. The coach also reiterated his positivity about Bean being able to stay prepared in spite of being relegated to the backup role for KU this year.

"I think the extra two days will probably, definitely benefit his chances of playing, I'll say that. I would expect to see him."

Baylor is dealing with its own quarterback health issues pertaining to Blake Shapen (more on him later), but Leipold said he's expecting the sophomore pivot to play on Saturday. He was also, unsurprisingly, glowing about Shapen's game and multiple different skills that he brings to the table.

Sources: The injury to Kansas QB Jalon Daniels will keep him out today’s game with Oklahoma. The timetable for the return from right shoulder injury remains ambiguous, as he’s week-to-week. Look for the earliest potential return being the Nov.5 game with Oklahoma State after bye.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 15, 2022

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

When: Saturday, Oct. 22 at 11:00 a.m.

Where: McLane Stadium, Waco, Texas

Spread: Kansas +7.5

Baylor entered this season with major expectations following last year's conference championship, but it's been a slower-than-expected start following plenty of key offseason departures. Advanced metrics are still relatively high on the Bears despite their 3-3 record in the first half of the season, though. Bill Connelly's SP+ rankings at ESPN still have Baylor at No. 21, the highest mark for a team without a winning record and nine spots higher than where it started the season.

SP+ also favors Baylor in Saturday's matchup with KU by 10.1 points.

🌞😎 WEEK 8 SP+ PICKS 💰🤑

Oregon 34, UCLA 32
Clemson 31, Syracuse 22
Texas 31, OSU 29
Bama 36, Miss St 21
TCU 31, KSU 27
Ole Miss 31, LSU 25
Ohio St 35, Iowa 13
Cincy 33, SMU 27

55% ATS last week! 12.3 PPG abs error for the season! Hell yes!https://t.co/7YPZkyYWYb pic.twitter.com/cQ6gvJuQO3

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) October 17, 2022

Baylor's defense has been strong this year, as expected, currently ranking fourth in the Big 12 in scoring defense (24.3 points allowed per game) and third in total defense (350.4 yards allowed per game). The offense is where the biggest questions lie for this weekend's game, however, in the wake of the aforementioned injury to Blake Shapen.

The sophomore quarterback was knocked out of Baylor's game last Thursday against West Virginia and his status is still up in the air for this week. In six games played this season, Shapen has thrown for 1,444 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 68.5% of his passes. Shapen started for the Bears in last year's Big 12 championship game victory over Oklahoma State. 

If he can't go, expect redshirt-freshman Kyron Drones to get the call. He went 7-of-14 passing for 95 yards with one touchdown and one interception last week.

JAYHAWK TO WATCH

The easiest name to pick out is Lonnie Johnson given how well he's played all season, but really the entire defensive line needs a bounce-back performance against Baylor. After two strong weeks in a row against Iowa State and TCU, the KU front was pushed around by a strong, sizeable OU offensive line.

Baylor has plenty of athleticism and size on its offensive line, which will undeniably make this another challenging matchup for Kansas. Plugging holes for the Bears' running game and adding pressure to whichever young quarterback gets the start will both be imperative for the Jayhawks.

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