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Baylor vs. Iowa State -- The Morning After -- Highlights, Links, Notes, Tweets

Wrapping things up from Baylor's rain-soaked Homecoming win over Iowa State yesterday at McLane Stadium.

By Mark C. Moore
Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH F
IOWA STATE (2-5, 1-3) 0 7 7 13 27
BAYLOR (7-0, 4-0) 21 14 0 10 45

Box S7core |  Quotes |  Notes |  Photo Gallery |  USATSI Photo Gallery

Waco, Texas - Attendance: 45,512

Post-Game Coverage from ODB:

Baylor Sleep Walks to 45-27 Win Over Iowa State
Injury Update -- QB Seth Russell fractures bone in neck

The Big News:

Seth Russell's injury is rightfully dominating the news cycle for Baylor this morning, as it puts in doubt his availability for the remainder of the season.

There's some consternation about when this injury happened, whether it was in the first half or later, and I don't have a good resolution for you on that.  Art Briles apparently told the media it happened in the first half, but I was unable to identify precisely when in my rewatch of the game.  There were several situations where Seth looked "off" and/or uncomfortable, but that may not mean anything.  The bottom line: we just don't know.

With no timetable for Seth's return, Baylor will turn to true freshman Jarrett Stidham, who has been amazing in limited action as the backup this year.  QB-turned-WR Chris Johnson will move back to QB to serve as Stidham's backup.

Baylor has 11 days before it plays again to find out more information about Russell and prepare Stidham, if necessary.  We'll keep you posted on additional details as they come available.

Players of the Game:

RB Shock Linwood -- 27 carries, 171 yards, 1 TD rushing, 1 catch, 6 yards, 1 TD receiving
WR Corey Coleman -- 6 catches, 85 yards, 2 TDs

DE Shawn Oakman -- 7 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 2 QB hurries, 1 sack
DE Jamal Palmer -- 6 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble

5 More Thoughts:

  1. As I said above, the injury to Russell will necessarily dominate the news around Baylor Football over the coming days, so get used to it.  That so many people are talking about it shows how important Baylor has become to the larger CFB world, and the possibility that we're going to be without our starting QB changes things.
  2. We just don't know how much it changes things, at least not yet.  As much confidence as I have in Stidham to run the offense, Seth has shown us a dynamic running threat that we haven't had in the last couple of years, and I'm not sure we'd have without him.  With all due respect to the Snydercats, considering what they've shown over the last two weeks, I feel relatively confident that Stidham can handle that game, even in Manhattan.  But 9 days after that, we play Oklahoma at home.  Oklahoma looks considerably better now than they did against Texas, and that game won't be a pushover.  If Seth can come back healthy, I feel good.  If not, I feel less good.
  3. As usually happens, the further I get away from this game, the better I feel about it.  If Seth was hurt in the first half, it explains a lot of what happened thereafter when the offense finally looked mortal.  Without Andrew Billings clogging the middle, it's easy to see how we'd struggle against a team dedicated to running the football.  And even those struggles don't take away from the four turnovers the defense created and the utter dominance displayed early, before Seth's apparent injury and before the team lost interest in playing in a monsoon.
  4. Speaking of the defense, yesterday's game was easily Shawn Oakman's best of the season according to the stats and how he "looked."  He still had some troubles in containment when Joel Lanning came into the game, but that's to be expected against a QB that can run.  Oakman was extremely active and disruptive throughout the game, and he single-handedly killed at least two ISU drives that I can think of.  We need more of that from him.
  5. I still don't understand our offensive game plan, and I'm not sure that I ever will. 

Bonus: Keep our Cowboy brethren in your prayers today, if you would.  The reports out of Stillwater are absolutely horrifying, and they really put everything else football-related into perspective.  Sic 'em, Cowboys.

Mark Seymour's Top 10:

My top 4 is becoming a top 5 based on the 5 teams I think have the best argument to be included.

Finishing out the Top 10 in some order:

LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS:

I could throw 50+ links down here about Seth's injury, but I won't because I think we've all heard all there is to hear so far.  We'll know more tomorrow.

No. 2 Football Defeats Iowa State, 45-27, On Homecoming - Baylor Official Athletic Site
Shock Linwood ran for 171 yards with a touchdown, and caught a pass for another score as second-ranked Baylor beat Iowa State 45-27 for its FBS-best 20th consecutive home win while ending another impressive streak Saturday.

Updated 2015 bowl projections, with Stanford replacing Baylor in the College Football Playoff - SBNation.com
Let's make some new predictions for every bowl game, from the National Championship to the New Orleans. It'll be fun!

Georgia Tech pulls off 2015's other most shocking finish, because college football never stays quiet for long - SBNation.com
Good morning! It's your wakeup roundup of everything college football, from "The Miracle on Techwood Drive" to JMU's "GameDay" signs to Leonard Fournette dancing in the rain.

Five thoughts from No. 2 Baylor's 45-27 win over Iowa State | Dallas Morning News
Click here to view the box score.

Baylor Football: QB Seth Russell fractures bone in his neck - College Football - SI.com
Baylor quarterback Seth Russell fractured a bone in his neck during Saturday's 45-27 victory over Iowa State.

Iowa State vs. Baylor - Game Recap - October 24, 2015 - ESPN
Get a recap of the Iowa State Cyclones vs. Baylor Bears football game.

Carlton: QB Seth Russell's neck injury becomes No. 1 concern for No. 2 Baylor | Dallas Morning News
WACO - The health of starting quarterback Seth Russell just became the biggest concern for No. 2 Baylor during its upcoming bye week.

Baylor shrugs off rough second half, dispatches Iowa State, 45-27 - WacoTrib.com: Baylor Bears Football
With their NCAA-leading offense hitting a second-half lull, the No. 2-ranked Bears leaned heavily on a ball-hawking defense in plodding past Iowa State, 45-27, on a soggy homecoming Saturday at McLane Stadium.

Baylor defense takes rare center stage in win - WacoTrib.com: Baylor Bears Football
Every team in the Big 12 knows that Baylor can outscore you. The NCAA leader in both total offense (719.7 yards per game) and scoring offense (63.8 points), the Bears are more than capable of pummeling teams into submission merely by stockpiling boatloads of points.

Baylor notebook: Bears in top-4 playoff position; QB Russell’s injury; Coleman makes history again - WacoTrib.com: Baylor Bears Football
Whether it qualifies for the final four is anybody’s guess, but Baylor has put itself in solid position to crack the first four.

TWEETS TWEETS TWEETS TWEETS TWEETS TWEETS:

I didn't do a Tweets from the Day post yesterday, so we've got some fodder here.

This tweet shows you how dominant Baylor was when we gave a crap about the game early.

This was about the non-controversy of Coleman not wearing a shirt to the post-game press conference.

Sic 'em, Seth!

Have a good Sunday, everybody!

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