Baylor Coaches Preparing For Talented Texas Defense
10/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Explosive offenses will keep defensive coordinators up at night. But, in the case of the Texas Longhorns, it's their defense.
"We were up all night working, and we'll be working all day today, so we'll see where that leads," Baylor coach Matt Rhule said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. The Bears (0-7, 0-4) host Texas (3-4, 2-2) at 11 a.m. Saturday at McLane Stadium in a game that will be televised by ESPNU.
"The biggest thing is that this is such a hard defense to prepare for, you can't be random with what you want to do. They're so hard to attack schematically and talent-wise that we have to be really sharp in the way we decide to do it."
Since getting blitzed for 483 yards in a 51-41 season-opening loss at home to Maryland, the Texas defense has turned the corner with first-year defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.
The Longhorns shut down then-No. 4 USC's rushing game in a 27-24 double-overtime loss on the road; held Iowa State to 256 total yards in handing the Cyclones their only league loss, 17-7; rallied from a 20-point deficit before falling to 12th-ranked Oklahoma, 29-24; and shut down Oklahoma State's explosive offense in last week's 13-10 overtime loss to the No. 10 Cowboys.
"Their nose tackle, Poona Ford, is as good as we've seen," Rhule said. "They have great players, and I think Todd Orlando does a good job of taking what you do well and attacking you in all areas. They're No. 1 in the conference right now on third down. They get off the field better than anybody, they have great players, a great scheme and a toughness about them, so it will be a real challenge for our offense."
It's a Baylor offense that found a rhythm in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 38-36 loss to 23rd-ranked West Virginia behind freshman quarterback Charlie Brewer. He was 8-of-13 for 109 yards and two touchdowns passing and added 48 yards on 10 carries in helping the Bears score 23 unanswered points before being sacked by a blitzing linebacker on the two-point conversion try with 17 seconds left.
Moving forward, Rhule's hope is that the "players begin to recognize the mindset that was present in the fourth quarter. We just need to have that mindset the whole game."
"Bad things are going to happen, good things are going to happen. We just need to go out there and expect good things and deal with bad things," he said. "That's how you have to think to get through these games. As we continue to do that ÃÆ'Æ'à € ' ¢ÃƒÆ'Æ' ¢' ¬" we're doing that better now than we were ÃÆ'Æ'à € ' ¢ÃƒÆ'Æ' ¢' ¬" we can go out and play even better."
As far as the situation at quarterback, Rhule said he doesn't "want to have a quick trigger."
"If we went out there today, I'd put Zach (Smith) out there first and have Charlie ready," he said. "I just think, in these times, Zach's done too much."
Smith, who has started the last five and nine of the last 11 games, has thrown for 1,421 yards and eight touchdowns this season. Battling a stomach flu, he was still 16-of-27 for 261 yards against the Mountaineers.
"I think Zach got into that ballgame not feeling well and pressed a little too much, and he didn't have much help," Rhule said.
An already thinning receiving corps, which had lost Chris Platt to a season-ending injury and Blake Lynch to the defense, took another blow on Saturday. Freshman receiver R.J. Sneed will miss the rest of the year after suffering a broken leg.
"My heart aches for R.J. There's not a better kid or a better family," Rhule said of Sneed, who had made five catches for 53 yards. "R.J. is built from the right cloth, and he will come back."
Platt's injury earlier in the year has allowed defenses to double-team sophomore receiver Denzel Mims, who's made a team-leading 34 catches for 685 yards and seven touchdowns. But others like Tony Nicholson and Pooh Stricklin have stepped up, and then freshman running back Trestan Ebner had a career day against West Virginia with 109 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions and another 54 yards and one score on just three carries.
"What does it do to us? Maybe we have to use more tight ends, maybe we have to use more running backs," Rhule said of passing game options. "The whole year has been like an NFL roster. Every week, it's 'Who's active this week?' Then, we've tried to play those guys. There's just a lot of guys banged up."
Ebner was a high school receiver who moved to running back this year and could be an option at receiver, but "I just hate to switch him again," Rhule said.
"An older guy could probably do that, but he was never foundationally in our receivers. The minute he got here, we went through the summer and recognized that Terence (Williams) was out, and we had JaMycal (Hasty) and (John) Lovett and that was it. . . . If this was maybe next year, I'd move Trestan, but I don't know that Trestan could move right now."
Rhule said the fourth-quarter comeback against West Virginia showed the character of this team, "just the way we fought." But, he was just as impressed with the fans that stayed till the end after the Bears had fallen behind 38-13 in the third quarter.
"The last two home games, Oklahoma and West Virginia, we're sorry and we're sad that we weren't able to finish those games," he said. "But, the way the student section, band, family and friends stand and cheer for the guts and the fight of the team is an encouragement to our players.
"I think if there's anything that tells me why this is such a great place, it would be that. I don't know that I've ever seen that. Some of our coaches have been in the NFL, and we've just never seen it. That's what makes Baylor such a special place. It makes us want to fight so much more and bring a victory to the fans and students and all the people that care so much about Baylor."
