2011-2012 Football Previews – Big 12 – Baylor Bears
The Baylor Bears earned their first bowl berth since 1994 last year. Art Briles has said that Baylor should expect to win, but last year’s bowl berth was still a surprise to many in college football.
Head Coach: Art Briles
2010 Record: 7-6
Baylor Gambling Odds from Sportsbook.com to win BCS: +20,000
Baylor Team Page – Players Stats – Roster – 2011 Schedule –>
This is a program that has taken some pretty big steps forward, but they still have plenty of room for improvement.
On the offensive side of the football, Baylor is in a very good position. Defensively, Baylor has been terrible the last couple years. Briles brought in Phil Bennett from Pittsburgh to take over the defensive coordinator spot. Can Bennett get this defense going in the right direction quickly?
Baylor started the season 7-2 in 2010, but they dropped their last four contests. They were beaten badly by Illinois in their bowl game, and this is a team that wants to finish much stronger in 2011.
Team Strengths:
Robert Griffin III is an amazing quarterback and he gives the Baylor Bears one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. When healthy, Griffin has the ability to single-handedly carve up a defense with his arms and his legs. Last year, Griffin completed 67% of his passes and threw 22 touchdowns compared to just eight interceptions. He is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate.
The wide receivers are very good for Baylor. The Bears picked up a potential top-notch wide receiver in Johnathan Lee. Kendall Wright is a senior leader who racked up 952 receiving yards in 2011. This is a group that has both speed and size, which means they should create some major mismatches this year.
Baylor lost starting running back Jay Finley to graduation, but they brought in an impressive class of speedsters in the backfield. Look for guys like B.J. Allen and Anthony Webb to show their big play capability often this year. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Team Weaknesses:
The Baylor Bears secondary was absolutely horrendous in 2010, and it’s hard to imagine them being a lot better in 2011. The cornerbacks here are inexperienced and the safeties haven’t proven capable of keeping the ball in front of them. The Big 12 has several dangerous passing attacks, and that could be a real problem for this Baylor secondary.
Baylor returns several of their defensive linemen, but no one on this defense has shown the ability to get after the quarterback. This is particularly troubling for a team that has a glaring weakness in the secondary. If the Baylor front four can’t get after the quarterback some in 2011, it could be another long year for this defense.
In general, the entire Baylor defense should be considered a weakness. Remember, this is a defense that allowed 725 yards to Oklahoma State last year.
2011-2012 Baylor Football Prediction: 6-7
This is a classic case of where the Baylor 2011 team may actually be better than the 2010 team, but their record isn’t likely to show that due to a much tougher schedule. Baylor opens the season against a TCU team that is a terrible matchup for them. Expect Baylor to be fighting for a second straight bowl berth as Big 12 Conference play is in full force in November.
The Bears will have to hold serve at home against teams like Texas, Texas Tech, and Iowa State if they are going to have a winning season.
I think Baylor gets to six wins because Robert Griffin is an amazing play maker, but the defense is bound to hold them back with this difficult schedule.
2011 Baylor Football Schedule
09/02/11 vs. TCU
09/17/11 vs. Stephen F. Austin
09/24/11 vs. Rice
10/01/11 at Kansas State
10/08/11 vs. Iowa State
10/15/11 at Texas A&M
10/29/11 at Oklahoma State
11/05/11 vs. Missouri
11/12/11 at Kansas
11/19/11 vs. Oklahoma
11/26/11 vs. Texas Tech
12/03/11 vs. Texas
One reply on “2011 Baylor Bears Gambling Odds | Predictions”
Does Baylor win more or less than 5 games in 2011?