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Normally, when I do my post-game wraps, I try to summarize the game as a whole, sprinkle in a few stats, give five big thoughts on the game, and then leave it open to the commentariat to share their feelings. Today, there's not much to say other than the following:
- Baylor finally played someone ... and it didn't matter. They still dominated the game, particularly in the second half, and made someone look like no one (no offense intended, Mountaineers fans). WVU's return TD doesn't change anything.
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Corey Coleman is simply unbelievable. With 3 TDs today, he tied and then passed the school record for receiving TDs in a single season. He's up to 16 now in 6 games, which puts him #onpace for more than 34 in a 13-game season.
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Seth Russell made a Heisman statement today with 540 combined yards (380 passing, 160 rushing) and 6 TDs. Against the best defense Baylor has faced so far, and the first capable of stopping our running backs (Shock Linwood had just 84 yards on 19 carries), Seth stepped up his game considerably. He now has 32 combined touchdowns on the season.
- Don't let West Virginia's garbage-time stats fool you; I was very happy with the way the defense played in the second half, allowing just one touchdown after halftime and before the game was out of reach. Andrew Billings coming back is easily the best sign of all, since losing him for an extended period of time would have been beyond devastating.
- The bottom line for this game is that Baylor just puts so much pressure on opposing teams to keep up that it throws them out of their own game, gives our defense the chance to play how it wants to, and creates an impossible situation for most opposing teams. The announcers said at one point that there's just nobody that could come into McLane and expect to keep up with this team, and it's true. Baylor is so good on offense-- so dynamic-- that time of possession doesn't matter, field position doesn't matter, and when an opponent scores and starts to gain confidence, they can lose it immediately when we score in response. It's an incredible machine to watch in motion, and I'm thankful it's our machine.
- Baylor scored 60 points today for the fifth-straight game, matching OU's NCAA record. Had we gotten one more TD against SMU to start things off, we'd have the record. Also, not scoring when we could have at the end says more about this team than punching it in for another meaningless TD. In many ways, mercy conveys more strength than driving in a knife against no opposition.
- I've got a ton of fodder for today's Tweets of the Day post (should go up later this evening), so be ready for that. Twitter was in rare form today.
Players of the Game:
QB Seth Russell (obviously)
WR Corey Coleman (duh)
TE Trevor Clemons-Valdez (BECAUSE HE CAUGHT A TD PASS AFTER NOT EVEN BEING ON THE TEAM EARLIER THIS SEASON)
The only reason I included that section was to give TCV a Player of the Game nod.
Final Stats:
| Matchup |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 22 | 34 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 6-18 | 4-13 |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-4 | 4-5 |
| Total Yards | 471 | 693 |
| Passing | 289 | 389 |
| Comp-Att | 18-39 | 21-34 |
| Yards per pass | 7.2 | 11.1 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 0 |
| Rushing | 182 | 304 |
| Rushing Attempts | 44 | 50 |
| Yards per rush | 4.1 | 6.1 |
| Penalties | 8-79 | 6-80 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 0 |
| Possession | 32:51 | 26:39 |