Campus Clash
(9) Baylor Bears at (21) BYU Cougars
Baylor: I’ve been high on them. They shocked everyone last season by winning the Big-12. In fact, I actually have them as one of my four teams to make the College Football Playoff in January. What I enjoy about this team is they can beat you in several ways. They’ll slow the game down and control the clock with a running game or they can air the ball out down the field. With Gerry Bohanon leaving for South Florida, Blake Shapen is now the starting quarterback, and he hasn’t miss missed a beat in Week 1’s battle against Albany. He completed 17 of his 20 pass attempts and threw for 214 yards and 2 touchdown passes. What grabs my attention about this Baylor team is the defense and that is head coach Dave Aranda’s background. He was a notable defensive coordinator for many years before getting his opportunity to become a head coach. Already, he’s turned them into the best defensive team in a conference where you need a ton of offense to survive. They’re stout in so many ways. They can plug up the lanes to shut down the run and in pass ? defense, they can line up with the best of them. While Oklahoma might be the sexier pick to win the conference, I still have these Baylor Bears coming out on top. On Saturday night, they will face a team who will eventually come to the Big-12.
BYU: I’ve been impressed with them the last few seasons. Even with the departures of Offensive Coordinator Jeff Grimes and Quarterback Zach Wilson, they’ve still been able to win 10 games in back-to-back seasons. They had one of the more explosive offensive attacks in the country last season and I see them being just as explosive this year as they were in 2021. The Cougars have one of the better players that nobody is discussing. His name is Jaren Hall and he’s the starting Quarterback. Jaren has strong control of the offense and makes all the passes. He might not have the explosive arm as Zach did, but he does more than enough to sustain drives and connect with his receivers. Jaren can also use his feet to extend plays. I’m reminded of Kyler Murray when I watch him play. This BYU offense can score with the best of them. Against South Florida, they churned out 573 yards of total offense. On the other side of the ball, they’ve held their opponent to only 279 yards of offense and only 12 first downs. This is a hard fought team that plays with confidence and most importantly believes in one another. On Saturday night, they welcome a big opponent to town.
Baylor X-Factor: Richard Reese – He is a true freshman Running Back. After watching the tape on Richard, he’s a downhill runner with the ability to shift himself into space and turn on the burners when he gets himself into that open field. Richard will add the balance to an offense that’s already capable of getting their points.
BYU X-Factor: Christopher Brooks – Christopher has had big shoes to fill in replacing Tyler Allgeier. Whenever someone is coming in and replacing a big name, I always say, be yourself. Don’t try to do what the other guy did because you can’t. Just play your game and everything else will fall into place. Against South Florida, Christopher had 135 yards rushing. I’m ready to see what he can do against a better run defense.
Final Thoughts: These two programs met last year and Baylor defeated them by 14 points. Less than a year later, here we are and they’re meeting in Utah. These teams are more similar than you realize. Both have tough defenses and the offenses can put points up in a hurry. I feel this is a good test for each team. This is such an interesting Quarterback matchup between Hall and Shapen. Look for both Quarterbacks to each throw for 250 yards in this game. The difference will be defense, and that is where Baylor has the advantage. I see them making a key stop when it matters most.
Prediction: Baylor 28, BYU 26
