Kansas State vs. Baylor: Game Grades, Analysis for Wildcats and Bears

The Baylor Bears took care of business against the Kansas State Wildcats with a 38-27 win and sealed up their share of the Big 12 title Saturday evening.

Kansas State managed to hold Baylor under its season average of nearly 50 points per game, but the Wildcats couldn't generate enough offense of their own to keep up with the Bears' potent passing attack, led by senior quarterback Bryce Petty.

Petty was remarkably effective for Baylor, as he threw for 412 yards and one touchdown and completed 34 of 40 passes.

Kansas State's offense came alive in the second half, but a slow start doomed the team when the Wildcats fell into a hole earlier in the game.

Overall, both teams played well and there were few glaring mistakes, but Baylor simply executed better and was able to maintain control for all four quarters and hold off Kansas State's comeback attempts.

Here are halftime and final grades for both teams using statistics from NCAA.com.

Baylor Bears Game Grades

Position Unit	First-Half Grades	Final Grades
Passing Offense	A	A
Pass Defense	B+	C+
Rushing Offense	C+	B
Rush Defense	B+	A
Special Teams	B+	B+
Coaching	A	A

Passing Offense

Bryce Petty's only mistake against Kansas State was an end-zone interception early in the first quarter that prevented the Bears from blowing the game wide open right off the bat.

Otherwise, he played about as well as a quarterback can play, completing 34 of 40 passes for more than 400 yards. Baylor's passing attack was simply too much for Kansas State, and the Wildcats had no answer for it.

Pass Defense

The Bears managed to limit Jake Waters' effectiveness in the first half, but Kansas State's passing game really opened up in the third and fourth quarters. 

Baylor also gave up too many pass plays on 3rd-and-long, and a couple of pass-interference penalties led to touchdowns or field goals for the Wildcats.

Rushing Offense

Shock Linwood, Baylor's leading rusher, had 91 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries, while Johnny Jefferson had 46 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries.

Overall, Baylor's rushing attack served as a great complement to the passing game and was reliable enough for the Bears to put points on the board nearly every time they entered the red zone. 

Rush Defense

Kansas State barely cracked the 100-yard mark on the night in rushing. Baylor's defense did a great job preventing big plays on the ground and forcing Waters to try and beat them through the air.

By limiting the Wildcats rushing attack, Baylor was able to avoid their trap of dictating the tempo of the game and slowing it down.

Special Teams

Baylor's special teams play was almost negligible because of how little the unit was used outside of kickoffs.

The Bears punted only twice and attempted only one field goal, which was good. Overall, the unit was solid enough not to be a detriment, and sometimes that's all you need. 

Coaching

Art Briles' offense was executed nearly to perfection against Kansas State. Although the Bears didn't score as easily and often as they do against some teams, they were able to move the ball with ease and stop the Wildcats or answer with touchdowns of their own when it looked like the outcome might be in question. 

Kansas State Wildcats Game Grades

Position Unit	First-Half Grades	Final Grades
Passing Offense	C	B+
Pass Defense	D	D
Rushing Offense	C	C
Rush Defense	B	C
Special Teams	B-	B-
Coaching	B	B

Passing Offense

Jake Waters and Tyler Lockett were both great for Kansas State, especially in the second half.

Waters threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns, and the bulk of his yardage came off passes to Lockett, who hauled in 14 catches for 158 yards.

Zach Trujillo was also a major target for Waters, as he had three catches for 88 yards and one touchdown.

Pass Defense

Kansas State's secondary was helpless against Bryce Petty all night. 

Baylor seemed to convert first downs on screen passes and throws over the middle at will, and even though the Wildcats defensive backs gave the Bears wide receivers big cushions, they still got burned constantly throughout the game.

Rushing Offense

The Wildcats rushing attack was fairly anemic against Baylor. With a running back-by-committee approach, Charles Jones led the group with 45 yards and one touchdown.

Overall, Kansas State gained only 103 yards on the ground on 40 carries, which forced the Wildcats to play right into Baylor's hands by relying on their passing attack.

Rush Defense

Kansas State found much more success stopping Baylor's rushing attack than it did stopping the passing attack.

Unfortunately, Baylor still had a pretty good night on the ground, piling up nearly 175 yards and four touchdowns on 37 yards. 

Special Teams

Unlike Baylor, Kansas State was forced to rely on its special teams unit quite often throughout the night. Both field-goal attempts were good, but punting and kick returns were both lackluster.

The Wildcats averaged just 11.7 yards per kick return and allowed Baylor to average 21.3 yards per return. That 10-yard differential can make a big difference against a team that can score as quickly and easily as Baylor.

Coaching

Overall, head coach Bill Snyder's game plan was solid, but Baylor's offense proved to be too fast and too dynamic for Kansas State to stop on a consistent basis.

To his credit, the Wildcats played much better in the second half than the first half and started challenging Baylor on defense.

But by that time, the deficit was too big and Baylor's offense still had enough juice to maintain its comfortable lead.