Baylor Impressive/UCF Catch of the Day

Let's get straight to the game: Texas Tech@Baylor from Jerry's World

The Good for Baylor:

1. Heart - This was the first time all year Baylor had trailed by 10+ points and they did not fold. Texas Tech came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter. Baylor weathered the storm and then put them away.
2. Baylor's Defense - They started out a little rocky, no one could get their head turned around in the defensive backfield, but MAN are there some hitters on this team. Some of the biggest hits I have seen all year in any game from any conference. They held Tech to only 458 yards which is 72.5 yards less than the Raider average. They held Tech to 320 yards passing which is 88 yards below the #1 ranked Tech passing offense's season average. The Bears forced turnovers which were a huge factor in the game. K.J. Morton on the Bears is a beast. On 2 blitzes he recorded an interception on a great leap to knock a ball down and also recorded a sack. He ended the game with 9 tackles, 1 sack, 3 passes defended, and 1 INT. The Bears pass rush had Mayfield running all over the field all game. Mayfield was going down short of first down yardage because he was scared for his life. And it didn't matter if it was a 4 man rush or a blitz, there was pressure all game long. The tackling for Baylor was tremendous as well. There wasn't a WR screen or reverse that went for any good yards all game long.
3. Baylor's Physicality - This is the most physical HIGH-FLYING team in the country. Yes, they throw the ball. Yes, they do all the things a fast paced offense does. BUT, when it comes down to it, this team will pound it out and just over-power an opponent. They average 295 yards rushing a game anyways and they put up 340 on the ground in this game. At one point time of possession was Baylor 3 minutes and Tech 9+. The game ended with only a 3 minute difference in favor of Tech; with Baylor chewing up most of the clock in the second half. Tech ran 61 plays in the first half, and ended with 89. Baylor had 39 plays in the first half and ended with 88. Dominating. Shock Linwood carried the ball 29 times for 187 and freshman Chafin carried 11 times for 100 yards. In the first half Baylor ran 16 times and threw 23 times, at the end of the game there were 31 passes (that's only 8 attempts in the second half) and 57 runs...that's 39 rushes in the second half.
4. Every quarter but the first - Tech only scored 2 more times after the first quarter and only once in the second half. Baylor scored 4 times in the second half.
5. Levi Norwood - WOW. This kid had me jumping off the couch on a bad knee and telling Baylor to give him the ball every play. I cannot believe he only had 2 touchdowns coming into the game. This kid cannot be stopped in the open field. First was the seam route off of play-action, Norwood caught it, made a killer move and was gone for 40 yards. Then came the punt return, he broke 2 tackles, broke at least 22 ankles and was gone for 58 yards. And finally on a WR screen, off of a great block, he broke a tackle, made another killer move and was gone for 58.
Here's a video of the punt return: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2F5B8s3lRY

The Bad for Baylor
1. Penalties - I prefaced this on Wednesday, Baylor makes a lot of penalties and this game was no different. They committed 12 for 124 yards. There were 2 false starts on their first 2 drives and a defensive holding on 4th down that kept Tech's first drive going.
2. Third down D - Baylor could NOT get off the field on 3rd or 4th down in the first half. It seemed everytime Tech needed a play they got it. This was not a problem for Baylor all game however. I started to get worried about this defense though. I did a quick look and noticed that they had not played an offense ranked higher than 60 at 413 yards a game all year...Texas Tech is a top 10 offense and I was worried that the first real test for the Baylor D would reveal that they weren't that good after all. But as we have seen, Baylor was more than up to the challenge.
3. WR Goodley - He had 4 catches for 101 and a TD, but could have had 6 catches for 200 yards and 3 TD's if he didn't drop 2 passes.

The Good for Texas Tech
1. Curtis Mayfield - The kid can make some crazy throws. His timing with his receivers in the first quarter was ridiculous, the Baylor DB's had no chance to make plays on the ball. He started shaky at 3/9 then went 9/11 but ended at 28/51. The pick he threw was not necessarily his fault, sometimes a defense just makes plays. He was running for his life and the throws he made on the run were impressive. His over-throws were results of a constant rush in his face all night, but not a performance to feel bad about.
2. Baylor's receivers - They made all kinds of crazy catches when they weren't really "open". Baylor had no answer for Amaro until they knocked him out - literally. Here's a clip of Tech WR Ward's one handed catch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsLg41bb6To  Amazing, but not the best of the day...
3. The Red Raiders execution in the first half was damn near flawless. They WANTED this game and it showed. They had the Bears on the ropes. They battled hard and made a lot of plays. But turnovers, special teams, and Baylor's physicality eventually proved to be too much for them to over-come.

The Bad for Texas Tech
1. The defense could not stop Baylor's running game in the second half. They could not stop Norwood all game.
2. The turnovers at the wrong parts of the field. And they had 3 total. Baylor scored off of these turnovers and that is a killer in a game like this. You can't give an offense like that extra chances.

This was a tremendously fun game to watch, but it hurt. With 177 plays between them I used up 6 pages of notes and I had a serious hand cramp by the end of it. I barely had time to write down a play before another play was being run. These are the fastest teams I have seen all year. However, after watching this game there is no doubt in my mind that Baylor is the #3 team in the country. They have all the pieces and could play with anyone. I didn't say they could BEAT anyone, but they would give the Tide and the Noles a heck of a game.

OTHER Top 25 Action

Alabama - The LSU hangover in effect again! But they gutted out a win against Mississippi State. Note to the Tide, try not to schedule anyone better than the Bulldogs after the LSU game from here on out or you are going to have repeats of the A&M game from last year over and over.

Florida State - It was 28-0 in the first quarter

Ohio State - They came out on fire, they went to sleep, and then Carlos Hyde pounded Illinois into the dust.

Stanford - After finally looking like Stanford last week they promptly committed 3 turnovers, made a ton of mistakes and got themselves beat by USC. Bye bye Cardinal.

Oregon - Back in the saddle again.....

Auburn - Just when I was patting myself on the back for picking Georgia in the upset.....if you haven't seen the final touchdown pass for Auburn, go find it, I am still bitter about it and won't post it here. Game of the Week in 2 Weeks: Alabama@Auburn for the SEC West.

South Carolina - They found a way to win a tough one. Only if they hadn't lost to Tennessee.....

UCLA - Trying to get to the Pac12 Championship game, they control their own destiny and they sent Washington to another mediocre season.

Michigan State - Hellbent for a B10 title game against the Buck-Eyes. Nebraska committed 3 turnovers in the FIRST QUARTER. Pelini's boys proved they were ready to shit themselves again in a big game.

Arizona State - Leading their half of the PAC12 with a huge game against UCLA next week. Winner goes to the championship game. Who saw this coming? Which conference is better this year? Pac12 or SEC? I will let you know after the bowl games. That we can even ask this question shows that the Pac12 lived up to all the potential I gave them in the pre-season, but how will they perform in the bowls? That is the proving ground.

Miami - Duke outplayed and man-handled the Hurricanes and moves into first place on that side of the conference. Who saw THIS coming!?!?!

UCF/Louisville - I am going to beat this horse till it comes back from the dead. These teams are legit. Louisville gutted it out against a tough Houston team and UCF survived their gut check against Temple. And letting my bitterness for Auburn shade my opinion; THIS is the catch of the day when UCF tied Temple. UCF also scored 10 points in under a minute-ten to secure the victory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5LG7DhSxJg  - catch of the year

So how did the predictions go? I went 11 for 13 with only Stanford and Georgia not coming through for me. That makes my season record 45-20 for 69%.

BCS Predictions

Lets see if I can do better this week.

Top 5 Prediction:
1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Baylor - if the coaches pull their heads out of their ass on Ohio State, but who was more impressive on Saturday? I'll tell you: BAYLOR
4. Ohio State
5. Oregon

My Top 4 Teams
1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Baylor
4. Oregon

I'll be back Monday with a more in-depth look at the BCS contenders, who's getting snubbed and who's over-rated, and why my Top 4 is my Top 4.

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