TCU at Baylor: Friday Night Game Preview

Friday, September 2

8 p.m. ET on ESPN

TCU

The Horned Frogs capped off an incredible undefeated 2010 season with a Rose Bowl victory over the Big Ten champion Wisconsin Badgers.  Now, they look to repeat that success as they get ready to move into the Big East.

TCU lost a lot of very good players from last year’s team, returning only eight starters.  They lose their starting QB Andy Dalton, and two of their top three receivers. 

On the defensive side of the ball, standout linebackers Tanner Brock and Tank Carder will both be back to shore up one of the nation’s best defenses last year.

New QB Casey Pachall will be called upon to fill some big shoes, and will have no shortage of weapons offensively this year.  Gary Patterson is quickly becoming one of the best coaches in college football, and will look to get off to a quick start against Baylor.

Players to watch: QB Casey Pachall, RB Ed Wesley, WR LaDarius Brown, LB Tanner Brock, LB Tank Carder 

Baylor

The Baylor Bears have struggled with injuries for the last few years, most notably with phenom quarterback Robert Griffin.  Griffin tore his ACL in Week 3 of the 2009 season, yet still managed to post very impressive numbers last year.

Griffin is another year removed from his injury, so we could see even more athleticism emerge as he becomes more comfortable with his repaired knee.  Baylor needs Griffin to be successful, as they run the entire offense almost solely through him.

Defensively, Baylor is in dire need of improvement from a unit that gave up over 30 points per game last year.  They lose their top five tacklers from a year ago, so we will be seeing several fresh faces lining up for the Bears this year.

Players to watch: QB Robert Griffin, WR Kendall Wright, TE Jordan Najvar

For free picks against the spread and analysis of this game and the other big games of the weekend, visit my site Saturdays in the Fall!