Texas vs. Baylor Complete Game Preview

The difficult road continues for the Texas Longhorns as they prepare to take on No. 7 Baylor Saturday afternoon.

Texas head coach Charlie Strong knew his team would not be favored against Baylor, but he seemed a little shocked to hear how large the spread was in favor of the Bears.

"What's the spread? A couple of touchdowns? Wow. They're something," Strong laughed. "But they deserve every bit of it."

The Longhorns are coming off a game where the defense shut out their opponent, but the team knows a shutout will not happen Saturday.

The pressure will be on the defense to limit the number of points Baylor puts up in order to keep the Longhorns in the game.

When: Saturday, Oct. 4, 3:30 p.m. ET

Where: Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas

TV: ABC

Austin radio: KVET 98.1/1300

SiriusXM satellite radio: XM 202; Sirius 117; Internet 969; Spanish 550

Last meeting: Dec. 7, 2013; Floyd Casey Stadium, Waco, Texas

Last meeting outcome: Baylor 30, Texas 10

Opening spread: Baylor (-13), per OddsShark.com

Texas Keys to Victory

USA TODAY Sports

Defense: Pressure Bryce Petty

Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty is one of the best QBs in college football this season. The early Heisman candidate plays with a lot of confidence, intelligence and rarely makes mental errors.

Part of the reason for Petty's success in 2014 has to do with the group in front of him.

Baylor's offensive line has yet to give up a sack and leads the nation in sacks allowed and tackles for loss allowed.

The Longhorns' front seven on defense needs to change this.

The positive news for Texas fans is the defense has the talent to remove the goose egg in Petty's sack column.

Defensive tackles Malcom Brown and Hassan Ridgeway lead the Longhorns with 6.5 combined sacks, and the team is tied at No. 6 nationally in total sacks. Putting pressure on Petty will be key to the Longhorns' success Saturday.

Offense: Control the Clock and Get in the End Zone

Not only does Baylor put up a lot of points, it scores quickly. Opponents have had more possession time than the Bears but have only averaged 14 points per game.

It will be vitally important for the Texas offense to stay on the field as long as possible and keep the ball out of Petty's hands.

But controlling the clock is not the only task the offense has to complete.

It also has to use the possession time wisely and put up points.

The Longhorns defense and special teams put the offense in prime field position against Kansas, but the offense did not take advantage of the situations.

This cannot happen against Baylor.

Baylor ranks No. 7 nationally in total defense and has only allowed seven touchdowns in four games. But four of those scores were against Iowa State.

It's no secret Baylor had a cupcake nonconference schedule, and the Iowa State game proved the Bears will surrender points. 

The Bears gave up 339 yards to the Cyclones—roughly 1.5 times more than the average total yards they surrendered to nonconference teams—and 28 points, which is more than the combined number of points scored by nonconference opponents.

Quarterback Tyrone Swoopes has to do a better job of managing the clock and getting his offense in the end zone.

Baylor Keys to Victory

USA TODAY Sports

Offense: OL Needs to Punch Texas DL in the Mouth

Texas' front seven on defense is preparing to put the pressure on Baylor's offensive line and Petty. And the Longhorns have the talent to be successful executing the game plan.

Baylor's O-Line has been successful in protecting Petty and not allowing many tackles for loss.

But it hasn't faced a defensive front as talented as the Longhorns.

The Bears offensive line has to punch the Longhorns defensive line in the mouth from the first play of the game until the clock expires. 

Nobody can honestly say Baylor has played outstanding opponents. In fact, the Bears probably are not getting as much credit as they deserve due to the less-than-stellar competition the team faced early in the season.

The offensive line has to step up to the challenge and get the Longhorns' front seven on its heels to silence the critics who say Baylor is overrated and cannot compete against good defenses.

Defense: Show Up

There really isn't any better way to describe the Longhorns offense other than incomplete. Texas entered the season with an inexperienced offensive line but had five-year veteran center Dominic Espinosa to help the unit.

When Espinosa went down with a season-ending ankle injury, the offensive line went down as well. 

The strength of the offense is in running backs Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray, but without the help of the offensive line, the backs have been non-factors.

If Baylor's defense can show up and not overlook the Longhorns, it should have no problem holding Texas to fewer points than the Bears offense.

Texas Players to Watch

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

John Harris

Wide receiver John Harris is having a breakout senior season. The once highly touted recruit spent his first four seasons on the sidelines either injured or backing up younger players.

But the fifth-year senior has turned things around in his final season.

Harris leads the wide receivers with 336 yards and four touchdowns through the first four games of 2014.

Baylor has only allowed seven touchdowns, but four of those came from the passing game.

If Swoopes can connect with Harris Saturday, the senior could have another solid performance.

Cedric Reed

Cedric Reed entered the season leading all senior defensive ends on Mel Kiper Jr.'s 2015 NFL draft board. But Reed has not had the start he anticipated.

The senior has only racked up 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss in four games.

But he is looking to change those numbers against the Bears.

Reed recently found out Petty has not been sacked. And his response to that finding proves he will be seeking to change that.

"I just learned they haven't gave up any sacks," Reed said Monday. "I'm ready to go play. It's very confidence-boosting going into this game knowing that."

Baylor Players to Watch

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Bryce Petty

Petty is the key to Baylor's explosive offense. Not only is he accurate and rarely makes mistakes, but he is also a very intelligent quarterback.

The senior is the ideal game manager offensive coordinators desire. He has the ability to pose a threat with his arm and to opponents' run defense with the zone read.

The fifth-year senior is a must-watch player Saturday, especially when one considers the Longhorns' struggling past against zone-read quarterbacks.

KD Cannon

All eyes have been on Petty in 2014, and he has earned the attention. But he would not be where he is if he didn't have great talent around him. 

Wide receiver KD Cannon is one of those stellar players.

The true freshman has averaged 130 yards per game, which ranks No. 5 nationally in receiving yards per game. He also leads Baylor's receiving core with five touchdowns.

Cannon is one of the most explosive players on the team and has the type of speed that will cause headaches for opposing defensive backs.

Corey Coleman

Redshirt sophomore Corey Coleman sat out the first three games of the season with a hamstring injury but made his season debut against Iowa State and was outstanding.

The receiver brought in 12 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown in the 49-28 win over the Cyclones.

Coleman was targeted more times than any other receiver against Iowa State, and that trend will likely continue throughout conference play.

What They're Saying

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Texas head coach Charlie Strong on facing Baylor's explosive offense

"It's a big test this week. It's really an unbelievable football team. I look at Baylor, and they're the No. 6-ranked team in the country, No. 1 in scoring offense and total offense. They just generate points. It's almost like watching a video game."

Baylor head coach Art Briles on the Texas defense, via BaylorBears.com

"

They've always played good defense and this year is no exception. They're very well coached, fundamentally sound, and they play at a high level. And they play with a lot of confidence. That's something we've always seen from Texas, and Coach Strong and his staff have done a great job of keeping that tradition alive and maybe even expanding on it.

"

Cornerback Quandre Diggs on Bryce Petty

"He can make all the throws. Also, he's a great competitor. You can see it each and every game. He goes out, makes plays and competes. He wants to be the best. You can only respect a guy like that. You know that he has that offense down. He can make each and every throw, and he knows exactly where his receivers are going to be."

Quarterback Bryce Petty's opinion of the Texas defense, via BaylorBears.com

"

They fly around to the ball. They're very well-coached, and they've got a lot of athletes out there, so it's a challenge. I'm looking forward to. Anytime you've got a defense as good as theirs, that's the challenge that football brings, and that's what you like to have. You definitely notice that on film. I've got to make sure I'm smart with the ball, and protect the ball to give us the best chance to be successful.

"

Prediction

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Texas will enter Saturday's game as a significant underdog to Baylor and rightfully so.

The Longhorns have averaged only 16 points with Swoopes under center. Meanwhile, the Bears have racked up an average of 57 points through the first four games of the season.

At this point, the Texas offense has not showed anything close to what it will take to keep up with Baylor. Even if the Longhorns defense can hold the Bears to 30 points, one could argue Texas wouldn't be able to put up 31 points.

The Longhorns have too many inexperienced players on offense and have not shown the ability to score enough points to survive a shootout with the Bears.

All signs point to a Baylor victory in Austin.

Baylor 35, Texas 17

Taylor Gaspar is Bleacher Report's featured columnist covering the Texas Longhorns. Unless otherwise noted all quotes were obtained firsthand. Follow Taylor on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar.