Neal Brown and Staff Preview the Baylor Bears

The Mountaineer coaching staff breaks down the Baylor Bears

The West Virginia Mountaineers (2-3, 0-2) are looking for their first Big 12 Conference win as they travel to WACO, TX, taking on the Baylor Bears (4-1, 2-1) Saturday at Noon EST and broadcasting on FS1.

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown has a lot of respect for Bears head coach Dave Aranda, stating during his weekly press conference that Aranda and his staff have done a great job since arriving at Baylor in early 2020.

Offensively, Baylor pounds the ball with the running game, ranking first in yards per rush at 6.14, rushing first downs (65), and is second in the league 238.2 yards per game. Trestan Ebner and Abram Smith have combined for 858 yards on the ground through the first five games.

"They want to run the ball. I think the running backs are both playing well. They've got two – I think they complement each other."

Ebner is also a threat in the return game. He averaged 32.2 yards per kickoff return with two touchdowns last season. He had a 98-yard touchdown return in the win against Iowa State early in the season.

"He's one of the best kickoff returners in our conference in the last three years," said Brown.

Defensive coordinator Jordan Lesly noted the Bears lull you to sleep with the outside zone run and hit you with the deep ball with their speed on the outside. Baylor has four receivers averaging over 10 yards per reception, led by R.J. Sneed (18 REC/317 YDS/17.6 YPC/1 TD) and Tyquan Thornton (19 REC/276 YDS/14.5 YPC/3 TD). Additionally, three different tight ends have gotten in the mix, with Ben Sims leading the way with 11 receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns.

Baylor quarterback Gerry Bohanon is fourth in the conference in passing yards with 996 (199.2 ypg) yards and has yet to throw an interception this season

"He's playing well," said Brown. "He's playing within himself and he's a good runner and they started to use him in that role the last two weeks."

Aranda has a defensive background and, among his peers, is considered one of the country's top defensive minds. His last stop was at LSU as the defensive coordinator during their national title run in 2019.

The Baylor defense sits atop the Big 12 in defensive passing efficiency, second in passing yards allowed at 155.6 yards per game and rank third in total defense (312.4 YPG).

"They're multiple on what they do schematically. A lot of pressures. I know they have two of the best defenders in the league. If you're not playing against them, they're really fun to watch," said Brown. [Baylor safety/linebacker Jalen] Pitre, he's special. Flies to the ball. He's around the ball carrier all the time. Same with (Terrel) Bernard, the linebacker."

"I think they play the game the way it's supposed to be played at all times, and they played really well against us last year. They're a group that has a lot of team speed," added Brown.

Co-offensive coordinator Gerad Parker highlighted the effectiveness of Pitre.

"They do a really good job of featuring him in a way of what he does really well," he said. "He's a great blitzer. He's instinctive. He can run the line of scrimmage. He can attack you when you run at him. If you try to pull the ball and run RPO's at him, he's very instinctive and can jump in pass lanes. He doe's a good job of finding ways to get into the fit and also stay out of the run fit and be heavy in the RPO windows and stuff as well."

Dillon Doyle gets lost in the mix, who is third in the conference in tackles for a loss with six.

West Virginia is 6-3 all-time versus Baylor and has won four out of the last five meetings. 

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