KANSAN
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Year
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has been their in passing off. done well at —but those face has thrown
Sims
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012
PAGE 7B
FOOTBALL GAMEDAY BAYLOR PREVIEW 3-4 (0-4)
FARZIN VOUSOUGHIAN
fvousoughian@kansan.com
OFFENSE
Baylor's offense is a mix of good and bad. Nick Florence passed for a minimum of 289 yards in all seven games this year for the Bears. Cornerbacks have a hard time defending Terrance Williams, even in double coverage. However, Baylor's rushing is below average, and the offense has turned the ball over 13 times in the last four games. If the Bears can't take care of the football, they are in for a long Saturday at home. Left guard Dylr Richardson will sit out during the first half after being tossed out of last week's game against Iowa State for an unsportsmanlike penalty.
Pos. NAME No. Year
QB Nick Florence 11 Sr.
RB Jarred Salubi 21 Sr.
FB Glasco Martin 8 Jr.
WR Terrance Williams 2 Sr.
WR Lanear Sampson 3 Sr.
TE Jordan Najvar 18 Jr.
LT Spencer Drango 58 Fr.
LG Cyril Richardson 68 Jr.
C Ivory Wade 78 Sr.
RG Cameron Kaufhold 71 Sr.
RT Troy Baker 75 So.
PK Aaron Jones 43 Jr.
Baylor quarterback Nick Florence (11) runs away from Texas linebacker Kendall Thompson (35) in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012, in Austin, Texas.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas will face a Baylor defense that runs 4-4-2-5 nickel package. Linebacker Eddie Lackey, who leads the team in tackles for a loss of 5.5 yards and is third on the team in tackles, will lead the defense. Bryce Hager leads the team in tackles with 70, second on the team in tackles for a loss, and will rotate with the linebackers. The Bears have recorded eight sacks and seven interceptions for the season, but since conference play, they've only gathered three sacks and one interception in the last four games. If Baylor's defensive woes carry over to Saturday, Kansas has a realistic shot of having its best offensive outcuff of the season.
DEFENSE
Pos. NAME No. Year
LE Terrance Lloyd 11 Jr.
DT Gary Mason 10 Sr.
NG Nick Johnson 76 Sr.
RE Chris McAllister 31 Jr.
OLB Eddie Lackey 5 Jr.
MLB Rodney Chadwick 26 Sr.
CB Chance Casey 9 Sr.
CB Joe Williams 22 Jr.
NB Ahmad Dixon 6 Jr.
FS Mike Hicks 17 Sr.
SS Sam Holl 25 Jr.
P Spencer Roth 36 So.
MOMENTUM
Baylor's season started off great. The non-conference schedule was nothing challenging for the Bears as they managed to score at least 47 points or more each game. The conference matches have been a different story so far. Baylor has allowed 52.5 points per game in the Big 12 this season. It's no surprise why the Bears are still seeking their first conference win. One small upside Baylor has is that it's won three of the last four meetings against Kansas since 2006, including two games where the Bears won by one point.
AT A GLANCE
Baylor has an offense where the passing game is far more dominant than the running game. Defensively, the Bears have been atrocious. A few of their matches in the Big 12 have resulted in shootouts, most notably against West Virginia when it defeated Baylor, 70-63. Even though Baylor scored 50 points twice this season in conference matches, it lost those games against West Virginia and Texas.
COACHING
Art Briles is in his fifth season with Baylor. Last season was his best year with the Bears after he coached the team to a 10-3 record and went 6-3 in the conference, the best during his tenure in Waco. After spending 20 years as a high school football coach and an athletics director, Briles first college football job came in 2000 where he was the running backs coach at Texas Tech for three years. Prior to arriving in Baylor, Briles coached at Houston and posted a 34-28 record in five seasons.
Briles
PLAYER TO WATCH
Wide receiver Terrance Williams will be a challenge for the Jayhawks' defense. Williams, the nation's leader in receiving yards, averages 172 yards per game and 213 yards per game in conference contests Baylor's offense heavily
relies on its passing game
Williams
led by Nick Florence and Williams, Kansas coach Charlie Weis said that Williams should be selected early in the first round of the NFL draft.
SPECIAL TEAMS
QUESTION MARKS
Kicker Aaron Jones' longest field goal of the season came from 44 yards out. He's eight of 12 on field goal attempts and inconsistent more than 40 yards out, making three of five from that range. Spencer Roth barely averages 40 yards per punt this season and is placed seventh in the league. The Bears special teams return game isn't very strong either as Anthony Goodley's collected 351 kick returns yards
Can Baylor stop James Sims?
ther as Antwan Goodley's collected 351 kick return yards on the season. The Bears special teams units present little to no threat to Kansas.
The same question was asked last week when Kansas was preparing to face Texas. Baylor is ninth in the Big 12 in stopping the run. James Sims had a career-high in rushing yards with 176 last week. He can duplicate his rushing success against another team that's struggled against the run.
Will Nick Florence be consistent?
At times, Baylor has made its living in the passing game. However, even though the Bears are first in the nation in passing, Nick Florence co-leads the Big 12 in interceptions with seven. If Florence continues his turnover mishaps against Kansas, it could mean the difference between a win and a loss.
BABY JAY WILL WEEP IF ..
Kansas' offense can't compete with Baylor's defense. Baylor hasn't done well this year in conference play. Kansas has a chance to go on the road and put up some points against a Baylor defense that hasn't fared well against many offenses this season.
38 BAYLOR
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Baylor quarterback Nick Florence throws a pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa State on Saturday in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State won 35-21.
395.1 Passing yards per game
1203 recieving yards for Terrance Williams
BY THE NUMBERS
Baylor players selected in the 2012 NFL Draft