Big 12 Preview | Baylor No. 9
- Thursday, August 13, 2009 8:12 AM
- Written By: Jonathan Crowl
2008 record: 4-8 overall, 2-6 Big 12 Conference
2009 projection: They'll be better, but the schedule is just as brutal a year later.
Reason to get excited: Sophomore quarterback Robert Griffin. He's the biggest thing to hit Baylor since Daniel Sepulveda, which is to say the Bears have had almost nothing to be excited about since joining the Big 12 Conference.
Reason not to get worked up: The top of the Big 12 South is too stacked for a breakthrough. Fourth-place in their division is about the best you can expect for the Bears.
The gist: Griffin has been top dog in Waco, Texas, since he first arrived. True, that's not an impressive piece of flair to carry around. What does impress, however, are his first 209 passing attempts as a college quarterback before throwing an interception -- a Division I-A record. Griffin also ran for 846 yards, just 19 shy of the team rushing leader Jay Finley. Along with wide receivers Kendall Wright and senior center J.D. Walton, Baylor's offense will need to fill holes on the offensive line if it wants to improve on the 28 points per game it scored last season. Coach Art Briles is hoping JUCO transfers Jason Smith and Dan Gay can make an immediate impact. The Bears' weak spot is on their defensive line, which lacks size and strength outside of Penn State transfer Phil Taylor. Baylor's defense will look porous against top tier teams, but it should do well enough against the lesser two-thirds of their schedule to keep them in most games.
Rallying point: Griffin's poise. For all his talent, the quarterback's calm in the pocket and decision-making abilities are what got him so far into the season without throwing a pick. There is no player at any other school in Division I-A whose presence is so large. That's because without Griffin, Baylor wouldn't be headed in the direction it's going.
Cover your eyes: During non-conference play, where the Bears could go 2-2 as easily as they could go 4-0. If anxiety isn't your thing, better pop a Xanax and wake up in Week 5.
For what it's worth: It's a good time to be a Baylor fan. The program is improving, a bowl game is imminent in the Robert Griffin era, and at least one upset among the Big 12's top four this season is on tap.
