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Breaking News: Baylor QB Jarrett Stidham out for the regular season with broken ankle

It's the Chris Johnson show now, everyone.

By Mark C. Moore
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

I hope you enjoyed that stint where Chris Johnson led Baylor to a big win over Oklahoma State this past weekend, because ...

Yeah, already down our #1 QB to a broken neck, we've now apparently lost our #2 QB, the freshman sensation Jarrett Stidham, to a broken ankle. Chris Johnson, the redshirt sophomore, will now lead Baylor into whatever this season holds.

If this news is true, and I have no reason to doubt that it is, Stidham's absence will not be a result of the injury previously sustained against KSU and/or OU.  That was a back injury.  Instead, this is an ankle injury likely suffered on the weird third down play against Oklahoma State where he was tackled awkwardly and then limped off the field.  That play is actually pictured above.

Considering that most probably expected for Stidham to miss the TCU game already as a result of his injuries, even if they weren't as severe as they apparently are, this news won't have a tremendous impact on that particular game.  It will, however, have a tremendous impact on the following game against Texas, as well as whatever happens after that.  Baylor is still in the running, at least potentially, for a CFB Playoff spot if things go our way, and we're definitely making a bowl game if we don't get in there.  Now Chris Johnson, who is simultaneously less experienced than Stidham in terms of actual playing time but also more experienced in terms of time in the offense, will have to take us as far as we're going to go.

Given the fact that we've lost two QBs already, people are going to ask immediately who the backup is now behind Johnson.  The answer: I have no idea.  The roster shows only one other QB: true fresh Zack Bennema, who was a preferred walk-on this past year and is currently red-shirting.  We also have several other guys who played QB at some point in high school, including DBs Xavien Howard (junior starter at CB) and Jourdan Blake (redshirt freshman), and WR Blake Lynch (true freshman, redshirting).  If things got really crazy, you might even see Corey Coleman himself back there.  But until we get some kind of definitive statement, there's really no way to know.

I want to stress that though Shehan has reported that this news is confirmed, we haven't heard anything official from Baylor or Stidham himself.  When/if we do, I will update this post with that information.

UPDATE: Bruce Feldman has now picked up the story, too.

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