Dana Holgorsen is 9-0 against Baylor, which is definitely a record to be comfortable with as West Virginia University hosts Baylor for the first Big 12 game of the inaugural season. Although, this record will excite the fans, Holgorsen is quick to remind people Baylor is not going to be a team we can look over.
“Were not playing the Big 12 were playing Baylor, and we need to do a good job because they are a quality football team,” said Holgorsen. “They've won nine games in a row.”
Gone are the days where we would play one ranked team a season, and usually the team came from another conference. In the Big 12 there are currently six ranked teams in the AP Top 25 Poll.
Baylor and West Virginia’s offenses have a lot in common starting with passing yards. WVU is averaging 370 total passing yards per game, and Baylor is averaging 360 passing yards.
The mountaineers offense looked a little off balance last week against Maryland, which is somewhat due to our rushing play maker Shawne Alston. Alston was on the sideline last week with a bruised thigh. This allowed Maryland to ignore our run game, which made it more difficult for Geno Smith to complete his passes to our double covered receivers.
According to ESPN Baylor has recorded 10 straight 500 or more total yard games, easily the longest active streak in the FBS. Baylor’s offense has so far been more balanced with their passing and run game than WVU. Granted Baylor doesn't have the type of weapons when it comes to passing that the mountaineers boast, but with the numbers they are posting WVU’s defense better be prepared.
WVU’s defensive line against Maryland was the one bright spot for our defense. Sure our safeties recorded a couple sacs but our plan to put pressure on the freshman quarterback didn't work out as expected.
Maryland’s Quarterback Perry Hills threw for 305 yards, averaging 10.5 yards per pass.
The biggest question for our defense is will the secondary show up and perform against Baylor. There were too many times against Maryland where they were just beat and that can’t happen against Baylor, who can put up as many passing yards as WVU can.
Our special teams for the second straight year are letting us down. The defenders can’t get off their blocks, and our punting game needs improvement.
WVU is no longer in the Big East, although I do believe the Big East is underrated they do not compare to the type of teams we will be facing throughout the rest of the season. All three sides of the ball have to show up and play to their ability against Big 12 teams, who don’t allow a lot of room for error.
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