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We are back this week to check in on the statistical situation facing your Baylor Bears 5 games into the season.I'm trying some new things this week to get more complete stats, so bear with me.
Oh, and before anyone asks me for the millionth time-- No, I'm not going to separate things out into just FBS or just Conference games. If you want that information, go look at the wealth of information CFBStats.com has to offer.
Baylor Team Summary:
Pretty happy about our 367/358 pass/rush split, you guys. I'm also pretty happy that we're outgaining our opponents by yards than about 30 different teams are averaging per game. But I'm REALLY happy that our penalty numbers, once the worst in the country by a fair amount, have dropped like a rock the last couple of games to the point of near-manageability.
Baylor National Ranks:
Changing things up a bit using NCAA.org's total stats rather than listing the rankings separately for offense/defense. You can click on each of the headings above to get more information.
Next time you see Drew Galitz, if he's someone you see regularly, give him a fist-bump for that #1 Net Punting average. You should probably do the same for Davion Hall, who is an absolute BEAST on special teams.
Really, the defensive numbers are looking up after a dominant performance against Kansas this past week, and they should be consumed with the knowledge that we've already played the #2 offensive team in the country-- Texas Tech.
BTW, since I'm on the point already, if you're curious what the difference is between #1 (Baylor) and #2 (Tech) in total yards, it's roughly the same as that between #2 and #8 (Memphis, 80 yards).
Offensive Stats:
One thing I wanted to point out: Baylor is #4, #2, #2, #2, and #6 in offensive plays longer than 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 yards this season. Texas Tech is #1 in all of those stats. Disappointed we're not? Well let me remind you that they've played 6 games versus our 5, and we're still #2 in the country in those stats.
Let's get to the stats:
Passing Stats:
How much can I say here? It's incredible to think that basically 300 yards per game and 4 TDs with a 210 QB rating is somehow disappointing for your QB, but it is when you think about how much better Seth's numbers could be if he played full games. Oh well, I won't complain.
Stidham's pretty great, too.
Rushing Stats:
Whoever "Team" is on this chart needs to STEP UP HIS GAME.
So far this season, Shock Linwood has been, in a word, tremendous. Though he doesn't possess elite speed, he more than makes up for it with incredible balance and strength that belies his smaller stature. He's taken The Leap so far this season in terms of production and is now leading the conference in rushing yards, rushing yards per game, and yards/attempt (among qualifiers). He's also second in rushing TDs with 7, just 1 behind TCU's Aaron Green.
Receiving Stats:
Everything Shock has been in the running game, Corey Coleman has been for the Bears. He's absolutely demolishing Baylor's record books in terms of receiving TDs, and with 13 in 5 games, he's #onpace to break the NCAA single-season record (27, Troy Edwards) in just 11 games. Will he do it? I seriously doubt it. But he'll definitely break the Baylor single-season record, which is 14, and he might make a run at the Big 12 record (25, Stedman Bailey).
A big question for the offense so far this year is the relative absence of KD Cannon after his 2014 freshman breakout. A lot of that is the focus that has been on Coleman so far, and a lot is the vagaries of a small sample size (just 5 games). My guess is that we'll see a renewed emphasis on getting Cannon the ball through the rest of Big 12 play, particularly as teams try to take away Coleman.
Defensive Stats:
Guess what! I found somewhere with accurate defensive stats!
Tackles:
When the leader on your team has 7.80 tackles per game, you know a couple of things: 1) you're pretty balanced in terms of distribution, and 2) your starting defense isn't playing all that much.
Tackles For Loss:
One thing I want to point out: Shawn Oakman has 6.5 tackles for loss in 4 games this season. Projected out over 12 games (because that's the most he can play in unless we make the National Championship), that's 19.5 tackles for loss. Last year, he had 19.5 tackles for loss (and 5 in his first 4 games). Remember that the next time you think he's somehow underwhelmed so far this year, when he's really played all of about 2.5 games combined. He's not been Emmanuel Ogbah by any stretch, but he's not been deserving of the scorn heaped his way, either.
Sacks:
Pat Levels MAKING HIS PRESENCE KNOWN.
... this post ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated.