Five Keys to Saturday's Game
11/16/2024 8:27:00 AM | Football
Coming off their second bye week, Bears have a chance to check another box
BAYLOR vs. WEST VIRGINIA
- CHECK ANOTHER BOX: Over their last three games, the Bears ended a Big 12 losing streak, won their first Big 12 home game in two years and beat TCU for only the second time in a decade. Now, they get a chance to beat West Virginia in Morgantown for the first time in seven tries. Four of them have been close, including a three-point loss two years ago and the Mountaineers' double-overtime win in 2020. "I think whether it's Colorado or Texas Tech, those games have put us in position to kind of get this one," said Baylor coach Dave Aranda, who is 1-3 versus West Virginia. "There hasn't been a lot of getting it at their spot. So, we're going to try to do that."
- FEED OFF THE BYE: After Baylor's first bye week, the Bears strung together wins over Tech, Oklahoma State and TCU to move a game over .500 and get within a game of bowl eligibility. Now, coming off a second bye week, the team is "as healthy as we've been going into this one," Aranda said. "There's always a strain when you're under the gun. So, I think having a chance to breathe is probably good. That gives you a chance to look at the stuff you're doing good, you're not doing good. . . . I think there's ways it can help you. I think you have to be intentional about those ways. Otherwise, I think it can hurt you, because you kind of just sit back and take it as it comes."
- DON'T TURN IT OVER: After defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley was fired and replaced by Jeff Koonz during the Mountaineers' bye week, West Virginia scored on an interception and fumble return and set up another score with a fumble recovery in a 31-24 road win over Cincinnati. The Bears have been good all year, turning it over just 11 times in nine games. Sawyer Robertson has been one of the league's most efficient quarterbacks with a 17-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Cincinnati nearly doubled up the Mountaineers in total offense (436-248) but couldn't overcome those 17 points off three turnovers.
- WRAP 'EM UP: Baylor had a ton of missed tackles in the 37-34 win over TCU two weeks ago, giving up 444 yards total offense, including 339 through the air. That was priority No. 1 during the bye week was working on the fundamental of just tackling. "That's got to be where you know where your help is, and you play to your help," Aranda said. "In the moment, you've got your cleats in the ground, you're solidified in what your assignment is and you play fast to it. We've gone from a formation defense to a field defense, trying to get cleats in the ground. We're still getting a fair amount of shifts and motions that are getting guys' eyes all over the place. So, we have to be able to settle that down, to settle down the tackling."
- QUIET THE NOISE: Milan-Puskar Stadium is one of the toughest environments in the country, with 60,000 packed in there and totally into the game. This is not a social event. The blueprint for a road victory in Morgantown is to get an early lead and take the crowd out of it. "It's huge," said Baylor defensive end Treven Ma'ae. "Once you punch them in the mouth, and if you keep doing it, the fans leave. I believe in, you've got to break their spirit. That's the biggest thing."
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