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8/7 BAYLOR (2-0) vs. NR/NR BUFFALO (1-1) Sept. 12, 2014 | 7:00 p.m. CT Buffalo, N.Y. | UB Stadium (29,013) TV: ESPN |
 Listen |  Gametracker |  Notes |  Tickets |  Gameday Central |
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OPPONENT: Buffalo Bulls
ODB GAME HUB: Baylor Bears vs. Buffalo Bulls 2014
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: UBBulls.com
BUFFALO MEDIA GUIDE: Click for .pdf
BUFFALO DEPTH CHART: vs. Army (best I can do)
LAST MEETING: 70-13 Baylor win in 2013 | Baylor vs. Buffalo 2013 Game Hub
LAST GAME (for Buffalo): 47-39 loss to Army
SB NATION BLOG: Bull Run
SPREAD: Baylor -31 (Open: Baylor -27)
TV COVERAGE: ESPN
WEATHER FORECAST: High Friday of High 63F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Low Friday night of 50F. Clear skies.
BAYLOR UNIFORMS: Unknown, but I would bet a lot it's either Stormtrooper or Chrometrooper.
Buffalo SB Nation Preview
BaylorBears.com Preview
Bears vs Bulls coverage
A year after demolishing the Bulls 70-13 in Waco, the Bears make the return trip to upstate New York, where they'll face an attempted blackout by Buffalo fans. So far, the Bulls are 1-1 on the young season with a win against the Duquesne Dukes and a loss last week to the Army Black Knights. Their full 2014 schedule:
Right away, we might as well talk about the fact that although Baylor won last year by 57 points, there were a couple of troubling aspects of the game, namely the performance of our secondary early covering Buffalo WR Alex Neutz. Starting with Buffalo's first offensive play of the game, Neutz lit up Baylor's secondary repeatedly, racking up 197 yards on 6 catches. Thankfully, his graduation makes a repeat performance with junior QB Joe Licata impossible this year. Instead, Licata will have to make do with juniors Ron Willoughby (6-4, 196) and Marcus McGill (6-1, 227), their top two receivers this year. Their full team stats:
In his first two games this season, Licata has played relatively well, especially compared to his season performance a year ago. He's had a bit of trouble with interceptions this season, throwing 4 already with 3 coming against Army this past week, so that may be something to watch.
We're lucky that for the rest of the season, we'll be able to take full advantage of Bill C's previews for each of our opponents. I highly suggest you take a look at that at some point before the game Friday night.
It's probably not good for Buffalo that after playing Duquesne and Army, they're ranked #90 in total defense, #120 in team passing efficiency defense, and #110 in scoring defense. That's probably not good at all, especially considering Baylor is #4 in total offense, #9 in team passing efficiency, and #4 in scoring offense. We're also #2 in first down offense with 63 already this season. Sure, it's just two games' worth of stats, but it's all we have to go on at this point. We'll take a closer look at the opponent-adjusted stats later this week.
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Since this is our first opponent with an SB Nation blog, I want to take another opportunity to link their way: Bull Run. They're good folks, so I hope that if you do go over there, you don't do so with the intent to troll or belittle their team or fanbase.
Question Time!
- FIRST -- Assuming Antwan Goodley and Corey Coleman return, who do you start at WR in this game (2 WRs, 2 IRs)? Assuming the same, who leads Baylor in receptions? Yards?
- SECOND -- Does Rashodrick Linwood go over 100 yards in this game?
- THIRD -- How scared are you of the Buffalo blackout?
- FOURTH -- Who has been our most impressive defensive player this season: Shawn Oakman, Andrew Billings, or Xavien Howard?
- FIFTH -- Does Baylor allow a touchdown in this game? If so, how?