Baylor Has Nothing to Fear From TCU if This is How They're Going to Play
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Yes, this might be an overreaction. Yeah, the game literally took place across the Atlantic Ocean. Sure, the coach of North Carolina is Bill Belichick, a man whose reputation speaks volumes. And because "Why not add to the variables of this game?" it was also raining. But those weren't the biggest factors that caused TCU to lose this game, or the reason I'm claiming that Baylor has less to fear from TCU in their Week 0 game.
This Might Come up at Practice This Week
The thing that requires immediate mentioning is how the game effectively ended. If by some chance the Bears find themselves in the same situation at the end of the game the Horned Frogs had Saturday against the Tar Heels, it should be absolutely expected that Coach Dave Aranda will attempt the exact same tactic of "drawing the opponent offside."
He should, given the recent results it just had, it's hard to argue against. TCU fell for it, though, and that's one of the reasons why TCU should be more worried about Baylor than the other way around.
Rough Night or Sign of Things to Come?
TCU QB Jaden Craig's decision-making saw him trying to squeeze a few passes through tight coverage, into double-coverage, and at least once on a fourth down running a bootleg left to the left hash and passing back across his body while still running left as a right handed quarterback.
I can appreciate a quarterback willing to give the throw a chance. They make for exciting highlights, and are a trait of a player who is always actively trying to win. But for Travion Barnes and a Baylor Bears defense that will be hungry for interceptions, they'll be ready to eat; Craig can be better than his Week 0 performance, but he's already shown that he can be beaten.
If They're Going to Give Them Away, Baylor Will Accept
Penalties aren't a guarantee each game, they do however show enough of a lack of discipline to get penalized. The total cost to TCU being 100 yards through 11 penalties. Safe to say that after giving an entire football field's worth of yardage, TCU was lucky that the score was as close as it ended up being.
Final Takeaway?
Baylor hosts TCU on October 17th, and if TCU's game August 29th in Ireland against North Carolina is any indication as to how they're going to play the rest of this season, they become a much less scary opponent than was once thought.
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Brad is a writer and contributes to the Baylor Bears on SI, with aspirations to share his own unique thoughts and perspectives with fans. Whether through the facts and figures of the past or the untold potential and triumphs of the future, sports have always been a large influence on Brad's storytelling and life overall. His inspiration to write began while watching sports when he first noticed the highs and lows of each game, each quarter, each play; there's a story in each of them worth telling, and he wanted to tell them.
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