Three Takeaways
9/17/2018 9:32:00 PM | Football
Bears Have to Create Turnovers, Run the Ball Better Against Kansas.
Baylor Bear Insider Jerry Hill gives his three takeaways from Monday's weekly press conference with head coach Matt Rhule following a 40-27 loss to Duke and prior to Saturday's Big 12 opener against Kansas (2-1), which kicks off at 2:30 p.m. at McLane Stadium:
- TURNOVERS: While Baylor had two costly turnovers in a 40-27 loss to Duke, including a pick six, Kansas leads the nation in turnover margin at plus-12 (13 turnovers gained, one lost). "The story of Kansas right now is really their defense and how dominant they've been," Rhule said of the Jayhawks, who scored three non-offensive touchdowns in Saturday's 55-14 win over Rutgers. "You take Saturday's game for us, if we don't turn the ball over, that's a much closer game. We are not yet forcing turnovers. My hope is we'll get there this week. We need to. And we'll need to protect the football."
- GIVE 'EM THE ROCK: Since piling up 295 yards rushing in the season opener, the Bears (2-1) have netted just 221 yards on 63 carries (3.5-yard average) in the last two games. Against Duke, the running backs carried just 12 times for 36 yards. With JaMycal Hasty suspended for the first half of Saturday's game, Rhule said freshman Craig "Sqwirl" Williams will likely get his shot. "We just have to give them a few more chances, get the ball in their hands a little bit more," he said, "maybe a little simpler in terms of just getting the ball downhill. Give them a chance to really go be explosive and get into a rhythm."
- PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE: My favorite line from today's press conference might have been, "Before every accident, there's a warning." Before the dropped passes in Saturday's loss to Duke, Rhule saw the same thing all week in practice. "There were a couple times where I stopped practice and brought everyone up and said, 'Hey guys, this is sloppy,''' he said. "How do you get better grades? You study. How do you catch balls? You catch 1,000 balls for the one you get in the game. So, why do we have games like this? Sometimes, it's to reinforce that message."
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