3 Keys to a Baylor Football Victory over Louisiana Tech
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Baylor and Louisiana Tech both stand at 1-1 going into Week 3 and are set to duke it out for a winning record in McLane Stadium this Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Bears are still looking to right some wrongs and start playing their best brand of football going into Big 12 play. Here are three keys for a statement win over the Bulldogs
Be smart with the football
LA Tech ranks 24th in turnover margin at +2, while Baylor sits at 90th with -1. The Bulldog defense had three takeaways against LSU in Death Valley and won't be looking to slow down in Waco.
Lagway (or whoever ends up starting) will have to tune up their vision after throwing a combined four picks in the first two games of the season.
The Bulldogs will struggle to march down the field against the stout Baylor defense, but turnovers will give them much better field position and keep them hanging around in the game; no need to force throws, take the sack, or throw it away rather than hitting someone in the wrong jersey.
Control the tempo of the game
The Bulldogs' offense likes to get on and off the field in a hurry, ranking 133rd in time of possession. Baylor can exploit this by grinding down the clock and exhausting the LA Tech defense.
The Bears are going to have to play four quarters of solid football against Louisiana Tech. Lengthy possessions that lead to scores (not turnovers) will make for a largely stress-free victory in front of the home crowd.
Iron out the discipline issues
Baylor needs to be playing their best football in the coming weeks, and there are a few things that remain glaring issues, perhaps the largest being the penalty yardage and overall lack of discipline.
"In defensive football, if there's one guy not playing the right call or not doing his job, that's going to [allow] a big play," safety Michael Allen said. "And our effort standard is something that can never change, so continue to play with that, and that is where all the turnovers come from."
Kaden Sieracki echoed that from the offensive side of the ball.
"I don't want to say we're not locked in out there," offensive lineman Sieracki said. "But I think some plays kind of got to us, and we let those plays tumble on ... we were locking down on that when we were in film; we were calling it out."
The Bears still have time to iron out the wrinkles before Big 12 play; there is no better time to do it than Saturday.
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Bennett is an undergrad student at Baylor University, studying journalism on the sports track. He is from the DFW area and grew up playing and watching sports, which inspired him to pursue sports writing.
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