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21 Nov 2013

Why Baylor is Porn for Football Nerds

After seeing my recent Three-Cone Drill on Baylor, Deadspin had me over to discuss them in more depth for a broader audience.

Posted by: Rivers McCown on 21 Nov 2013

4 comments, Last at 25 Nov 2013, 6:06pm by sundown

Comments

1
by andrew :: Sun, 11/24/2013 - 2:17am

FO curse works even on college programs.

2
by sundown (not verified) :: Mon, 11/25/2013 - 1:56pm

I really like Baylor's scheme and love watching them, but it's pretty fitting that this article would come out right on the eve of all the flaws of the scheme being exposed. Not caring about time of possession is just fine as long as you are putting points on the board and your defense isn't being exploited. The article uses the K-State game as an example of how Baylor can overcome lopsided time-of-possession, but that was a game where K-State ended the game with 25 points, which is manageable even if Baylor isn't on their A game. But when Oklahoma State was running up 600 yards and 42 offensive points, with Baylor's D looking totally gassed and overmatched, time of possession made a huge difference. Baylor's D just got more and more tired as the game went on while Oklahoma State's D stayed fresh.

Also, parts of the article just came across as being silly, like where it says that every Baylor play is ran with the goal of scoring a TD and that they never run plays for the purpose of setting up future plays. That's absurd. Everybody good coach has a plan in mind and knows that certain plays help set up others. Even if Baylor tries to say that's not the case, it doesn't mean the writer needs to swallow that line as fact.

3
by tuluse :: Mon, 11/25/2013 - 2:55pm

I didn't see the game, but regards to the first point. Isn't likely Baylor was so outmatched talentwise they would lose anyways? It sounds like Baylor's D was gassed because they couldn't get off the field themselves, not necessarily because of how the offense played.

Your second paragraph is on the money though. No offense in the history of football runs every play to score a TD. Even ignoring set up plays, there are plays designed to convert 3rd downs. No one is going TD or bust on 3rd and 1.

4
by sundown (not verified) :: Mon, 11/25/2013 - 6:06pm

Judging by past performances, Oklahoma State shouldn't have totally outclassed them. Baylor scored 73 on the same West Virginia squad that beat Oklahoma State 30-21 the very next week, Kansas State played them both close, etc. But basically nothing went right for Baylor the whole night and they didn't adjust well.

It was pretty much summed up by a series when it was still scoreless in the first quarter. Baylor's QB is running it in for a sure TD when he trips over his own feet and is down at the half yard line. And then on the next play their RB extends the ball out trying to break the plane and gets it taken away from him so they didn't score at all.