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Before Baylor's game this past November against Kansas State, the oddsmakers didn't give us much of a chance, a predictable result given that they were the #1 team in the country and we were 4-5 (1-5). Kansas State seemingly had few weaknesses, as I noted in my First Look at the Wildcats, and were the consensus #1 team in the country with Alabama having fallen the previous week to the Fighting Johnnies of Texas A&M.
ESPN was there in Waco to see what most assumed would be another blowout; Baylor wasn't playing well, Kansas State was, and it was entirely reasonable to expect that Heisman candidate Collin Klein would keep his boys marching. Most of my content that week was geared towards suppressing expectations, although I'd spent the week before that calling for Phil Bennett's head. Still, as I said in the First Look...
Last week's game turned out better than I expected, to be honest, and I have a weird calm about this game that I can't really explain. Kansas State is, by almost any measure, the best team we've faced this season, but I feel better about this game than I did going to Norman. Part of it is that we're at home, and part is that I'm probably underrating the Wildcats. I have that tendency with Bill Snyder teams. Regardless, I know our coaching staff isn't and couldn't possibly be taking the Wildcats lightly, and whether we come out motivated shouldn't be a question.
I was at least right about that last part: Baylor came out as motivated and prepared as we've probably ever seen them, turning in a tour de force performance on national TV. The final score was prettier for the Wildcats than the actual game, as the Bears did what they want, when they wanted. For the first time in a long time, we looked the part of a team that could actually do something. And then we did something, winning four games in a row to end the season, including another shellacking of the UCLA Bruins in the Holiday Bowl.
So for today's Friday Afternoon Video, I bring you the Baylor vs. Kansas State game from last season, broken up into two parts. Enjoy. Here's the first half:
And the second:
Click on the link above for more coverage of this game from ODB, and here for the stats/recap from ESPN.