Texas Tech-Houston Thriller Shows Just How Baylor Football Can Beat Both This Season
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After the conclusion of Friday's game between the Red Raiders of Texas Tech and the Houston Cougars, the Baylor Bears have a few things to keep in mind for their respective games against each team later in the season.
The Big XII Conference is loaded with talent and talented teams, and two of them had a competitive and thrilling contest against each other on Friday night. There's just something about a Big XII team and a last minute failed two-point conversion attempt by small margins that touches a recent bruise.
Houston 26 vs. Texas Tech 28 Game Details
These players have hands. Several instances of simply amazing catches throughout the game by both teams on both sides of the ball. It wasn't even just one player with several highlight catches/interceptions. Oddly enough, most of the one-handed catching highlights came from players wearing the No. 2 on their jersey. Houston's Jalen Mayo and Koby Young, and Kenny Johnson of Texas Tech.
Baylor will begin Big XII Conference play next week, September 25th to finish off their three game home stand against head coach Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes. The Bears will play against Texas Tech November 21st in their final home game of the year. To end the season however, Baylor will be traveling to Houston to take on the Cougars in Houston on November 28.
Bears' Penultimate Game of the Season - Home vs. Texas Tech
Jacoby Williams of Texas Tech didn't see much action in the first half, but had two explosive runs during Texas Tech's first drive after halftime, with the second resulting in a touchdown. Williams lined up in the backfield as well as in the slot as a receiver; he'll be used in both as a threat as well as a bluff, and Baylor will have to find a way to account for both.
Cameron Dickey is another one of the Red Raiders' multi-position threat as he'll line in the backfield at running back, or in the Wildcat where he receives the direct snap, scoring what would end up being the deciding touchdown as he did early in the fourth quarter of Friday night's game against the Cougars.
Texas Tech will have no shortage of options throughout their offensive arsenal to use when it comes time for them to be the final team of the season to challenge Baylor in Waco. The Bears' defense has been performing well the first two weeks of the season, but if the goal is to come away from either or both of these games as the winner, Baylor will have to maintain that defensive intensity the entire season.
Verdict on how Baylor beats Texas Tech: Force Quarterback Will Hammond to throw the ball by stuffing the running game as efficiently as possible. The defensive line needs to let the cornerbacks and the safeties shine. Hammond has weapons at receiver, but if they're all that the Baylor secondary needs to occupy themselves with and not the run game as well, the receivers become much less of a daunting task.
Baylor's Final Game of the Season - @ Houston
Unfortunately, Baylor will be traveling to Houston to play and not the other way around, because it seemed the Red Raiders' crowd started to get to quarterback Conner Weigman late in the game as a quick three-and-out of three straight overthrown incompletions saw the Cougars have to punt the ball back to the Red Raiders who had just scored and taken the lead at 28-20. That's not to discredit Weigman though, as he had an otherwise solid game completing 27 of 38 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns.
Verdict on how Baylor Beats Houston: Defensive pressure on Weigman. Sounds cliché, but if the frequency of contact and overall disruption of the quarterback isn't set to "constant" Weigman is going to have enough time to pick any defense apart or use his legs to pick up yards. Baylor is going to have to let defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman come up with some of his best schemes and packages for this game.
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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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