9.2.2013 Daily Bears Report: Thoughts on Baylor vs. Wofford

Baylor 69, Wofford 3 --

Where do you start with a game like this?  From the outset, it became clear that Wofford was outclassed in talent, size, speed, and obviously, uniforms.  Their only hope in this game was to absorb Baylor's first punch, respond with one of their own, and then settle into their offense through the rest of the game.  As soon as we scored as quickly as we did, then their drive fizzled out with the false start, that hope was gone.  We were up 14-0 before they could blink, and there's almost no way with their offense to make up that kind of a gap.

Against our offense, Wofford sold out to stop the inside handoff, and I'd like to see us, should that happen in the future, hit the corner harder.  We didn't on Saturday because we just didn't need to; Cyril Richardson and Desmine Hilliard performed well inside despite Wofford's best efforts.  In the future, that's somewhere Bryce Petty's speed and size can play a role.  We probably didn't want to expose him to injury or show our hand in that regard against a team we were beating, anyway.

This afternoon/evening, look for the first Grades Report of the season as the ODB Staff reviews each position group on Baylor's team.  Because that's coming, I won't go into tremendous detail here.  I will say that I was extremely impressed with our receivers, especially Antwan Goodley, as well as our running backs.  Both of those things were expected given the talent available, but seeing it happen is different than believing it will happen.

Petty's issues, such as they were, all seemed to me to be things that can and will improve with time.  He had a bit of trouble receiving snaps from Stefan Huber, but Nick Florence did the same thing a year ago with Ivory Wade.  And as far as I know, that wasn't a problem in practice, so it could be nerves.  Petty also made an obvious mistake in trying to force a pass to the seam (the announcer said he was trying to throw the ball through the defender, which was totally true) that should have been intercepted.  It would have been against a Big 12 team.  As he gets more comfortable, he'll learn to climb the pocket and avoid the rush, so I'm not all that concerned about the strip-fumble.  Those things happen.

I wish Lache Seastrunk had gotten a few more carries, but what can you do?

Defensively, I have very very little negative to say.  One of my biggest concerns, and this will validate somewhat the people that call me haters, is actually the new targeting penalty.  And I say that not because I think our guys are reckless or trying to commit penalties, I just don't know what that rule is actually supposed to mean at this point.  I know for sure of two guys ejected this weekend, possibly 3, and I didn't think any of them deserved it.  I don't want to lose Ahmad Dixon or Eddie Lackey or whoever else to a BS call while the rule is still being worked out, and there was at least one play in Saturday's game where I thought it was possible.  That would piss me off.

My other big concern on the defense is at DT.  I love our depth at DE and our linebackers played exactly as I expected them to.  But at DT, we look a little thin.  Beau Blackshear is great and will only get better, but I'm less sold on Trevor Clemons-Valdez and Suleiman Masumbuko than I was in camp.  It seems like only a matter of time before Andrew Billings takes over and makes that spot his own.

We'll see how the defense looks this week against an opponent that probably has a bit more talent offensively and will definitely challenge them down the field.  That's where the first real test comes.  This week whet the appetite of Baylor fans and the Baylor team to extremely positive results.  Next week, hopefully we repeat those results.

Offensive MVP (give me yours in the comments!): QB Bryce Petty

Defensive MVP: Tie -- DE Chris McAllister, DE Shawn Oakman

Now on to the news!

S11 Offense Postgame vs Wofford -- We take a look at our offense against the Terrier D and take a short look at what worked and some of the issues the Bears had.

Heisman Watch Week 1: Strong opener gives Tajh Boyd early lead in race | Campus Union - SI.com -- Lache doesn't make their countdown, but he will.

What we learned in the Big 12: Week 1 - ESPN -- Here's what we learned after an up-and-down opening week in the Big 12.

Big 12 bowl projections: Week 1 - Big 12 Blog - ESPN-  We didn’t learn a whole lot from the Big 12’s first weekend of games. Well, other than not to pay FCS teams to come beat you on your home.  Well, that, and that Baylor handles its business, Jake.

Weekend college football recruiting recap: Big 12 - ESPN - I'm actually not sure if there's anything here about Baylor, but ok.

Big 12 college football weekend rewind: Week 1 - ESPN -- How do you write this piece, Jake Trotter, and not mention Baylor once?  I can't decide if this is a snub because they think Wofford sucks or an acknowledgement that Baylor dominated and it's just not worth talking about.

Grading the Bears vs. Wofford - WacoTrib --  We're doing this later today.  Contributors, I'll post mine and you can append to it with your own, or you can send me them in an email.

John Werner: Baylor football more than 1-hit wonder - WacoTrib -- When your team is as explosive and talented as Baylor, it won’t take long for people to stand up and notice.

FCS football uprising: New record for FBS losses in a week to lower level - SBNation -- After eight wins by FCS teams over FBS teams so far this weekend, is it even worth it to play lower-subdivision teams anymore?

First impressions: Grading some of college football's week-1 debuts - SBNation.com -- It would be ill-advised to draw lasting conclusions from one week of play, but let's evaluate how some coaches, players, and units fared in their respective debuts, from Alabama's offensive line to Penn State's Christian Hackenberg.

Comparing advanced college football stats to traditional stats: Offense edition - Football Study Hall -- Comparing Off. F/+ to total offense.

And something from a good while ago that I put on the front page -- SB Nation's Buffalo Preview.. Read it.