Baylor: A Tough Team to Beat

               The fourth week of the college football and the Big 12 season has come and gone.  The most exciting Big 12 game was Baylor vs University of Louisiana Monroe.  This game was closer than I thought it would be. 

                In the first quarter, Baylor struggled against ULM because they threw two interceptions to ULM.  ULM proved that they were ready to play and Baylor was not.  Baylor cannot play against Big 12 teams in this manner or they will have a tough time winning games.  In this quarter, Baylor’s defense was not ready for the trickery that ULM had in their arsenal.  The offense of ULM’s second drive had two quarterbacks on the field at the same time and Baylor could not stop them.  This is something other Big 12 teams should look at, because it might be a new way to confuse a team like Baylor.  At the end of the first quarter, the score was 14-0 ULM.

                At the start of the second quarter, Baylor was driving down the field to quickly answer the scores by ULM.  Baylor’s quarterback, Nick Florence, threw the football to wide receiver, Tevin Reese,  for a 43 yard touchdown pass to make the score 14-7 ULM at the 14:22 mark.  Baylor may have had a bad start, but they showed how quick they can get back into the game.  Baylor’s defense struggled in the second quarter.  They still could not figure out how to stop ULM’s offense because their running back, Jyruss Edwards, would bounce off one guy and gain a few more yards before being brought down.  Big 12 teams need to study this game closely if they want to find a weakness for Baylor.  ULM took the ball down the field again in a hurry to answer Baylor to make the score 21-7 ULM.  Baylor’s next possession was precarious because they had a number of passes that could have been intercepted, but were not.  That’s something Baylor cannot have happen against Big 12 teams because they will capitalize on their mistakes to force a turnover.  During this possession, Baylor took the football into the red zone and had to decide whether to go for it on fourth and goal or kick a field goal.  They decided to go for it and their running back, Glasco Martin, scored to make the score 21-14 with ULM still leading.  This is where the momentum shifted in the game and Baylor was showing more confidence on the field.  This was evident when Baylor’s defense came out on the field and forced a turnover.  Baylor’s offense capitalized on the turnover making the score 21-21 at the 5:25 mark of the second quarter.  Baylor’s defense started to put more pressure on ULM to get the ball back before the end of the half.  Baylor added a field goal at the end of the first half to make the score 24-21 Baylor.  In the first half, neither team seem they were putting pressure on the other team’s quarterback.  

                At the start of the third quarter, ULM’s offense had the ball first.  They played like they did at the start of the game and Baylor’s defense was on their heels once again.  At the 13:10 mark, the ULM running back, Jyruss Edwards, could not be stopped.  He ran the ball for a 58 yard touchdown to make the score 28-24 ULM.  Later, in the quarter, Baylor’s offense started to pick up on mismatches in the secondary of ULM’s defense.  Baylor’s quarterback, Nick Florence threw to wide receiver, Tevin Reese, for a touchdown at the 5:11 mark to make the score 31-28 Baylor.  Baylor’s offense started to be too much for the ULM defense to handle, which is one of their strengths.  They can wear a team out if they are not conditioned for a long game against them.  Big 12 teams need to condition themselves to play this type of game or Baylor will capitalize on this in the second half of the game.  When Baylor’s defense went on the field again, they forced a turnover and their offense was able to score a field goal before the end of the third quarter to make it 34-28 Baylor. 

                In the fourth quarter, Baylor’s defense was too confident and it backfired on them.  ULM scored quickly to make the score 35-34 ULM at the 10:54 mark.  Baylor’s offense then came back out on the field and started to be too much for ULM.  Baylor then scored at the 7:10 mark to make the score 40-35 Baylor.  They tried for a two point conversion and it was no good.  This did not matter because ULM’s offense fumbled the ball at the 5:40 mark.  Baylor scored to make the score 47-35 with 2:25 left in the game.  The final score was 47-42 Baylor because ULM’s offense scored with six seconds left in the game.

                This game was fun to watch, but  Baylor has to improve their preparations for the game or Big 12 opponents could take advantage of their weakness and not let Baylor have a chance to come back in the game.  Baylor is still a team to watch because they will get better as the season progresses.  Here is a link for highlights of the game.  http://www.big12sports.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?catid=34621&id=1055203