Wednesday DBR: Just Keep Winning

Nothing really happened in sports last night, so I guess there isn't much to write about today.

If only.

Playoffs?

The inaugural Playoff Committee rankings came out yesterday evening. Baylor was ranked 13th, with Arizona and Georgia rounding out the low teens. The Big 12 has half of its teams in the rankings, with TCU up at 7, K-State two below at 9, Baylor at 13, Oklahoma leads the two-loss schools at 18, and West Virginia brings up the rear at 20. That's far and away the highest percentage of teams in the Top 25 of any conference.

And yet somehow the Big 12 is still, in my opinion, undervalued in the polls. TCU is a legitimate playoff contender, Baylor beat TCU and is still very much in the running for a Big 12 title (despite what the media says), and Kansas State is a scarily-effective team that smothers their opponents under the watchful eye of the Wizard of Manhattan. And let's not forget about Oklahoma and West Virginia, both of whom very well could play a pivotal roll in the fight for the belt.

Here's my take on things: Baylor is getting slammed for their out of conference schedule, as we expected. It's still stupid though. Out of conference schedules are, for the most part, created several years in advance. Five years ago, Baylor was a thoroughly average team, not a Big 12 Champion. Yes, SMU, Buffalo, and NW State is a weak schedule, but are other school's schedules really that much better? TCU has Minnesota, who are 6-2...in the B1G. They aren't world-beaters either. Almost every SEC team plays three cupcakes, just like Baylor, yet we get slammed for it. Please, Mr. McCaw, schedule Oregon and let's get rid of this stupid "But they ain't played nobody!" crap.

TCU got credit for a good win against Oklahoma State. I'm sorry, what? I think TCU is, right now, a better team than Baylor, but they are not six spots better than us. Speaking of teams "better" than Baylor. Arizona nearly lost to UTSA and Cal and lost to an unranked USC team. Is a win over an injured Oregon really enough to boost them over Baylor? Georgia lost to South Carolina, who is now 4-4.

Alright, that's enough hot sports takes for the morning. Baylor still has a great chance at getting in if they run the table, but we might need TCU to lose (which is, frankly, ridiculous as we won the head to head). Anyway, just keep winning, Bears. RIP Kansas.

#StripeMcLane

DO IT

Your New Number One

After felling TCU and Georgia at the weekend, your Baylor Equestrian team took over the number one spot in the polls. K-State checks in at number two to give the Big 12 a solid hold on the top two spots. Oklahoma State and TCU are No. 7 and No. 8, respectively.

Golf Successes

Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen won his first career individual title en route to helping the Baylor men's golf team to a second-place finish at the Royals Oaks Intercollegiate. Oklahoma State won the tournament by a single stroke.

Women's golf recorded a school record 14-under round as they climbed to a sixth-place finish at the Alamo Invitational.  Laura Lonardi earned a school record for an individual round with a 65-shot performance.

Volleyball Heads To Lubbock

Baylor Volleyball had a thrilling come-from-behind victory against Iowa State. Can they ride the momentum from the win into a match that went all five sets last time the two faced off? Find out as the Volleybears take on the Techsters at 6:00 on FSSW in Lubbock.

#BeTheStandard

Baylor Leads Big 12 In NCAA's Graduate Success Rate For Fourth Time: http://t.co/MRCSVR8JCD #SicEm #BeTheStandard pic.twitter.com/EqKgjTBnGT

— Baylor Athletics (@BaylorAthletics) October 28, 2014

Oh look, we beat TCU at something...again.

The Daily Bear

Abner sitting in his namesake's chair, running the University with a firm paw.

The Daily Brilesism

"I’m a Baylor Bear as of about 11 o’clock this morning."