Behind Enemy Lines: Baylor Bears

It's Game Day, which means it's also time for some last minute intel on the Kansas Jayhawks' opponent, the Baylor Bears.

To help with that, I reached out to Matthew Workman, host of The Triple Option Podcast and sometimes Baylor writer for The LandGrant Gauntlet. He was nice enough to answer a few questions for us today.

What are your thoughts on Baylor opening their season with this game?

While I would have liked for Baylor to have a non-conference game before starting play Kansas is the next best thing.

Baylor lost a lot from last year’s team. Which players are you expecting to step up to fill the void?

On the defensive side of the ball you have to start with transfers LBs Dillon Doyle from Iowa and William Bradley-King from Arkansas State. Both are expected to step in and start and provide some needed experience to the front seven. In the secondary I look for Kalon Barnes and the safety duo of Christian Morgan and JT Woods to step up to fill those roles. Offensively I think Tyquan Thornton will take over for the departure of Denzel Mims also keep your eye on Gavin Holmes to make his presence felt following two knee injuries.

Any indication about the transition to Aranda’s system is going?

What new can we expect to see from the Bears this year? With all of the precautions with Covid-19 it has been hard to get a look at the defense in a practice setting but from all indications Aranda has kept culture in place that was established by Matt Rhule. Considering how thin Baylor is on the defensive line I would not be surprised to see a 2-4-5 alignment getting your most athletic personnel on the field.

What worries you most about this Kansas team?

Honestly, it is offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon, he is a sharp young coach and mixes his personnel grouping very well and this can cause problems for an inexperienced defense.

If Kansas pulls the upset, how does it happen?

Baylor’s defense shows their inexperience and Kansas’ athletic skill players are able to take advantage of this and make this game a shootout.

Prediction time! What’s the final score, and what is the longest scoring play (and who)?

I have Baylor with the win 45-24. Baylor jumps out early however Kansas makes a run late but it isn’t enough to catch up and get a win. I think Kansas does have the longest scoring play and it will be an 80 yard run by Pooka Williams.