Kansas State vs. Baylor: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More
This contest has some severe College Football Playoff implications. The Baylor Bears are currently the nation's No. 6 seed; however, if a pair of teams ranked ahead of them falter, they could be in line to sneak into the Top Four with a big win. But the Bears can't be caught looking ahead, as the No. 9 Kansas State Wildcats are a well-rounded team and will be a very formidable opponent.
There's already an ongoing debate surrounding Baylor's future following a victory in this contest, and Clay Travis of Fox Sports 1 tweeted his thoughts:
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Whether you agree with Travis or not, he poses an interesting theory. However, before everyone gets ahead of themselves, there's absolutely no guarantee of a Bears victory over the Wildcats. After all, Kansas State has plenty to play for, as it is looking for a potential berth in either the Cotton or Fiesta Bowl.
Containing Bryce Petty
Baylor owns the nation's top-ranked offense, averaging 49.8 points per game, and one of the biggest reasons for that is the play of its quarterback. Petty has been lighting up opposing defenses all season long, completing 59.3 percent of his passes for 2,893 yards, 25 touchdowns and five interceptions. This do-it-all quarterback has even recorded four rushing touchdowns.
While the senior signal-caller's status for this contest was in doubt for most of the early week, a tweet from SportsCenter relayed some good news for Baylor:
Stopping Petty is nearly impossible, so Kansas State's game plan must revolve around containing the prolific signal-caller. After all, that is doable.
Before they're able to contain Petty, the Wildcats must slow down Baylor's running game. Kansas State has the tools to do just that, ranking 19th in the nation against the run while allowing just 3.63 yards per carry and just nine total rushing touchdowns this season. When West Virginia held running back Shock Linwood to just 3.3 yards per carry in a win over Baylor this year, the offense became one-dimensional, and Petty struggled.
However, that may not be an easy feat, as Linwood has been very good of late, coming off a 158-yard, two-touchdown performance against Texas Tech. Still, controlling the running game will be a big part of keeping Petty from putting up some gaudy numbers. One Baylor's backfield is slowed down, Kansas State can sit back against the pass more frequently, providing plenty of much-needed help to its 56th-ranked secondary.
Get Jake Waters Going Early
Waters is a quarterback who feeds off momentum. When he begins a game in stride, he'll continue on a torrid pace until the final whistle is blown. That was exactly the case during the team's most recent victory over West Virginia, as Waters quickly put points on the board and wound up finishing the game completing 21 of his 27 passing attempts for 294 yards and four touchdowns while adding 21 rushing yards and another score on the ground.
Those are the kind of numbers that will allow the Wildcats to force an upset.
Conversely, when Waters struggles out of the gate, things can get ugly in a hurry for Kansas State. When the team played TCU earlier this season, quarterback Trevone Boykin quickly got his team out to a 24-7 lead. That forced Waters to throw more often and kept him from becoming a threat to run. He completed 20 of his 37 passing attempts for 291 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, adding seven carries for just two yards.
If Waters is sluggish in the game's opening quarter and allows Petty to gain a similar early lead, Kansas State's dreams of an upset victory and top-tier bowl game will go up in smoke.
When looking over Waters' numbers this season, it's also clear he's not a comeback artist. During the first three quarters of games in 2014, he's thrown 17 touchdown passes and just one interception. In the fourth quarter, he's tossed just one touchdown pass and three picks.
Waters will have his chances to pick apart Baylor's 100th-ranked pass defense, and he must take advantage.
When: Saturday, December 6
Where: McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas
Time: 7:45 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Betting Lines (via Odds Shark):
- Over/Under: 66
- Spread: Baylor -9
Team Injury Reports
| Tre'Von Armstead | TE | 11/30/2014 | Questionable | concussion |
| Troy Baker | T | 10/19/2014 | Out | knee |
| Devin Chafin | RB | 11/30/2014 | Out | elbow |
| Desmine Hilliard | G | 10/16/2014 | Out | wrist |
| Jamal Palmer | DE | 10/06/2014 | Out | knee |
| Bryce Petty | QB | 11/30/2014 | Questionable | concussion |
| Travis Britz | DT | 11/30/2014 | Questionable | ankle |
| Travis Green | S | 10/29/2014 | Out | leg |
| Kyle Klein | WR | 08/28/2014 | Out | undisclosed |
| Charmeachealie Moore | LB | 10/29/2014 | Out | undisclosed |
Injury reports per The Sports Network, via USA Today.
Prediction
We're certainly in for a high-scoring affair on Saturday. While Kansas State does have a respectable defense, it is up against the nation's biggest offensive powerhouse. On the flip side, the Bears don't have the strongest defensive personnel and could allow some big points to Waters, who is riding some nice momentum following a couple of solid performances.
However, when we begin to speak in terms of shootouts, it's simply too difficult to go against Petty and the Bears. This team firmly established itself as the nation's best shootout artist after winning a 61-58 barnburner over TCU this season. If this game takes on a similar trend, we'll get a similar result.
Kansas State is a very good football team and will make a game of this one. However, the way things look right now, the Wildcats' best chance of a victory is if Petty isn't able to pass the concussion protocol and is forced to sit out. That doesn't appear likely.
Prediction: Baylor 48, Kansas State 38
All team rankings and statistics courtesy of NCAA.com and current as of December 3.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
