Regardless of the argument against their strength of schedule, the Baylor Bears are ranked No. 2 in the country for a reason. At 7-0, they have certainly looked like a legitimate College Football Playoff contender so far this season. However, the conversation about whether or not they are good enough to actually make the CFP got a little more confusing this past week when their starting quarterback Seth Russell suffered a fracture to one of the bones in his neck and was sidelined for the rest of the season. Now the Bears will turn to freshman Jarrett Stidham under center. While he has looked good in limited snaps, he will certainly face a tough challenge ahead with the schedule about to get a lot tougher. Baylor needs to stay perfect in order to win the Big 12 and advance to the CFP, but can they survive without Russell?
Here’s how they can:
Stidham Shines In Starting Role
Any shot the Bears have at going undefeated will require Stidham to perform at a very high level. That’s because the vertical passing game remains the biggest weapon for an offense that has topped the 60-point mark in five of its last six games overall. Stidham has looked good in limited snaps, completing 24-of-28 pass attempts for 331 yards and six touchdowns compared to zero interceptions, but Baylor’s schedule will get a lot tougher with games against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU coming. The margin for error will get even slimmer. Stidham certainly has all of the physical tools to succeed and he has plenty of weapons around him, but he will need to shine in the starter role in order for the Bears to survive.
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Coleman Helps Pick Up The Slack
The best of Stidham’s weapons is junior wide receiver Corey Coleman, who looks like a lock to win the Fred Biletnikoff award as the nation’s top receiver. He has also been mentioned as a potential Heisman candidate by some experts. Coleman is on pace to absolutely shatter some college football records with 47 catches for 962 yards and 18 touchdowns already this season. He will need to step up in order to keep the Baylor offense from stumbling following the change at the quarterback position. The Bears are deep at the wide receiver position with Jay Lee, K.D. Cannon and Chris Platt, but there is no doubt that Coleman is the leader of this group and one of the nation’s top receivers. Before, the quarterback helped him look good. Now he’s got to do the same for the new passer.
The Running Game Steps Up
Baylor’s ability to move the football vertically through the air has taken the attention away from a rushing attack that has already produced 2,368 yards of offense and 23 touchdowns this season. However, with Russell out, there is a good chance we see the Bears run the football even more. Junior Shock Linwood has been the best of a strong cast of running backs as he has averaged a ridiculous 8.1 yards per carry while running for 974 yards and nine scores already. With Russell done for the year, we could see a lot more from Linwood and the Baylor rushing attack as they step up and keep the offense rolling.
The Defense Makes Enough Plays
The Bears will only go as far as the offense can take them but with some tough matchups coming up, they will also need their defense to step up and make enough plays to help them stay undefeated in the Big 12. Baylor will visit Kansas State before a tough stretch that includes hosting Oklahoma and then visiting both Oklahoma State and TCU in back-to-back weeks. While the offense should be able to continue to put up big numbers even with Russell sidelined, the defense will need to step up and make enough plays to help the Bears survive a difficult schedule the rest of the way in the Big 12. They need all hands on deck with Russell out.
