Skinny - You want a surprise team? Well here you go, meet the Baylor Bears and get familiar with the name. Art Briles has Baylor heading in the right direction and behind Robert Griffin, sophomore QB, expect the team to take another step this year and a rather big one. Their record might not be stellar this season, but there impact should be. Baylor starts the season at Wake Forest and than plays UConn. Realistically winning one of those games would be positive for the Bears, but I expect them to take both and than beat the two featherweight teams before traveling to Oklahoma. The Big 12 South is absolutely stacked, but the Bears should be good for 4th or 5th and I full-heartedly expect 4th and we all remember how good Oklahoma State looked last year in the fourth place roll.
Strength - Robert Griffen
Griffen is the real deal and looked like a slightly more mobile version of the junior year Troy Smith. Not bad company to keep as Troy Smith is a former Heisman trophy winner. Baylor was only 92nd in the country in passing yards last season but look for that number to improve as Griffen should be more comfortable to second time around and he's a very efficient quarterback with a 15-3 TD/INT ratio. Griffen's passing efficiency is second to his running ability though, as he racked up over 800 yards on the ground last season with 13 TD runs giving him 28 total TDs as a freshman, not too shabby. 3 of Griffen's 4 top receivers return from last season, so the chemistry should be there. Griffen will also has his top ball carrier back, so although the offensive line must rebuild after losing Jason Smith to the NFL the offense should be solid.
Weakness - Cornerbacks
Its always a nice thing to have your leading interception man returning coming off a 6-pick season, the only catch though is that he is the middle linebacker. The Bears return all 3 linebackers, should have a dominant force at defensive tackle, and return two solid safeties. The middle is fine for defensive coordinator Brian Norwood, but the corner situation is a little scary. The pass defense ranked 103rd in the nation and its not expected to be top 20 with the schedule they play, but the team gave up 40+ points on three occasions and were 87th in the nation in scoring defense, which is not something that'll win you games. Luckily for the Bears they are a very good team when it comes to turnovers, ranking 4th in the nation in turnover margin. Tim Atchison, Antareis Bryan, Trentson Hill, Clifton Odom, and Dominique Criss must step up and play at least a decent corner position in a pass-happy league. Luckily for them Maclin and Crabtree are gone, unfortunately Dez Bryant and Jordan Shipley aren't.
Key Game - 9/5/09 @Wake Forest
A win over an okay Wake Forest team would set a good tone for the season for the Baylor Bears. Going 4-0 in the non-conference schedule would be huge heading into Big 12 play. Although Oklahoma would be an arduous task, Iowa State should be an easy win and heading into the Oklahoma State game 5-1 may give the Bears the confidence they need to spring the upset and really mess up the national picture.
Key Player - Phil Taylor
The ex-Penn State player was part of a big DT class for the Nittany Lions. In his freshman season, he clearly separated himself from the pack which includes All-Big Ten 1st teamer Jared Odrick in terms of potential. He's huge and takes up space well and playing under former Penn State coach Brian Norwood he's been in the same type of system for his entire college career and knows what's expected of him. Taylor has been making headlines for Baylor and he hasn't even played a snap yet, but if he truly can open up the defense and let Pawelek rome free in the middle, Baylor could have a legit defense.
Impact Freshman - Darius Jones
Projected Big 12 finish - 4th (South)
Top 5 Players
1. QB Robert Griffen
2. LB Joe Pawelek
3. DT Phil Taylor
4. P Derek Epperson
5. WR Kendall Wright
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