Baylor vs. Buffalo: Game Grades, Analysis for the Bears
It wasn't much of a game. As expected, the Baylor Bears jumped out to a big first quarter lead and never looked back. The Buffalo Bulls were completely over-matched and the Bears were able to put up 63 points on the scoreboard.
Despite an impressive offensive display, there are still things head coach Art Briles will want to work on before Big 12 conference play gets underway in a couple of weeks. We'll also be taking a look at Baylor's performance here, grading each segment of the Bears' team to try and determine where those improvements need to be made.
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| Pass Offense | A- | A- |
| Run Offense | A | A- |
| Pass Defense | B | B+ |
| Run Defense | A | A |
| Special Teams | D | D+ |
| Coaching | A | A |
Pass Offense
There's not much here that should surprise anyone. Bryce Petty threw for 416 yards and four touchdowns. His backup, nearly equally impressive Seth Russell, went just 2-of-3 for 64 yards, but added another touchdown.
K.D. Cannon? Yeah, he's the real deal. He had six receptions for a whopping 189 yards and a touchdown. Still rocking that 30+ yard per catch average, and a lot of it is coming in yards after catch.
A few drops are enough for us to give the pass offense an "A-," but still very impressive.
Run Offense
The run game isn't always the mark of a Baylor offense, but the Bears kept the Bulls honest with some strong runs tonight. Shock Linwood had 97 yards on 20 carries along with two touchdowns. Johnny Jefferson and Seth Russell also added ground scores.
Overall, 189 yards and four touchdowns in more than enough to earn an "A," but some early shaky play from the Baylor offensive line—an often overlooked but important part of the run game—convinces us that the run offense only deserves an "A-" tonight.
Pass Defense
The pass defense held Buffalo to 255 yards and two scores through the air, but some of that lackluster output from the Bulls had nothing to do with the Bears' secondary. Dropped passes were the bane of the Bulls all evening.
Still, the Bears weren't bad, necessarily, and there were some great defensive plays made from some role players (particularly backups late in the game). We'll settle on a very solid "B+."
Run Defense
The Bears gave up 139 yards on the ground, and most of that came in the second half with two's and three's on the field for the Bears. As halftime neared, the Bulls were struggling to reach 100 total yards of offensive output, and the run defense played a major role in that.
Shawn Oakman and Jamal Palmer were all over the field, keeping the Buffalo run game at bay, freeing up the Baylor secondary to do its thing in the pass game. This one's pretty simple: an "A."
Special Teams
Here is where it could get ugly for Baylor.
Can no one kick on this team? No wonder Baylor goes for it on fourth down. Missing a 36-yard field goal from the middle of the field with no rain, no wind, no nothing is absolutely inexcusable. Kicking a kickoff out-of-bounds is also inexcusable.
The return game wasn't given an opportunity to show its stuff as the Bulls smartly kicked away from the returners. Baylor averaged just 0.5 yards on two punt returns and nine yards on four kick returns.
We can't give extra credit simply because the stars in the return game didn't get a chance to shine. So we think we're being generous with a "D+." The only reason this grade isn't worse is the fact that Baylor's two kickers combined for 9-for-9 on extra points (and a few were just barely good).
Coaching
The only complaint we have with Art Briles and his staff is the fact that he left Bryce Petty in the game a bit longer that we would have thought, given the fractured back bones and all.
Still, when a team wins 63-21, it's hard to harp on the coach too much. A solid "A-" for the coaching staff here.
Unless otherwise noted, quotes or references to quotes were obtained firsthand by the writer.
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