By Wendell Barnhouse
Big 12 Digital Correspondent
Baylor's media relations department hashtags the football team with #AmericasTopOffense. Unlike the vast majority of statements on social media, this is a true statement.
The Bears lead the nation in total offense (by 115 yards over second-place TCU) and are the only team in the top 10 in both passing and rushing offense. Not surprisingly, Baylor leads the nation in scoring at 63.8 per game. (The men's basketball team averaged 69.1 points a game last season).
Junior quarterback Seth Russell, who has started five games in his career, leads the nation in passing efficiency and is tied for first in touchdown passes with TCU's Trevone Boykin; each have 10. Baylor has thrown a touchdown pass on 17.6 percent of its passing attempts.
The nation has noticed. In the recent media and coaches' polls, Baylor – ranked third in the media poll and fourth by the coaches – received 15 first-place votes, more than any team other than top-ranked Ohio State.
By halftime of Saturday's 63-35 victory over Texas Tech, Baylor had scored 49 points with 499 total yards. The Bears eased off on the accelerator in the second half.
"Baylor has tremendous personnel," Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said. "They continue to evolve and tweak things that best fit their personnel. They pound you with the run game and then throw it over the top to those fast wide receivers.
"Right now on offense, they're basically doing anything they want."
Saturday, Baylor plays at Kansas which is 121st in total defense and allowing 534 yards and 40 points a game. Under first-year coach David Beaty, the Jayhawks are running an "air raid" offense similar to the no-huddle, fast-paced styles favored by Oklahoma, Texas Tech and West Virginia.
But Baylor's style doesn't fit in that category. What Art Briles has developed is unique. As with many things that work so well, it's simple. The Bears' offense spreads the field with speedy receivers lining up from sideline to sideline. If the defense bunches to stop Baylor's potent running game, the receivers are one-on-one with defenders. If the defense spreads to provide extra coverage against the pass, Baylor runs the ball.
"Baylor is an impressive team to watch – unless you're playing 'em," Beaty said this week. "I don't know how you slow Baylor down because I'm not sure anyone has. It's both the style of play and they've recruited guys that are fast that fit their system.
"What you don't know is the details of how they make that system work. That coaching staff is brilliant and they don't tell people the details."
Told that Beaty called Baylor's offense brilliant, Briles ran a verbal reverse.
"Brilliant? I don't know about that," he said. "We're just trying to grind and make first downs."
By the way: Baylor, at 9.4 yards per offensive snap, is averaging nearly a first down per play.
Now Just Hold On A Minute
Holders for field goals and extra points are among the most anonymous players on the roster. Their names are listed on the roster cards distributed to the media but their names only get mentioned if they fail to do their catch-and-place jobs.
Austin Fischer has learned even when a holder tries to get noticed, it takes time. He started his emphatic fist pumps after kicker Cole Netten splits the uprights on extra points last season but now fans and the media are starting to notice.
"I think the big reason why I do it is because I love Iowa State," Fischer told the Des Moines Register. "I love everything that this university stands for. I love my coach (and) coaches. I love the administration. It's just really exciting to be out there and play Division I football."
In Saturday's victory over Kansas, Fischer replaced his fist pump by simulating a bow-and-arrow shot. Rhoads has ruled that a one-time act.
"He won't be shooting any bows and arrows anymore, I can assure you that," Rhoads said. "That'll draw a flag."
But Rhoads has no problem with a celebratory fist pump when Netten's kicks are true.
"I think it's fantastic," Rhoads said. "I love the passion and enthusiasm that goes along with it. As big of a charge as anything on Saturday was for our kids to go out there and have fun - to go out there and enjoy playing the game of football and Austin does that and his role is not insignificant."
Anti Social Media
The kerfuffle created by Texas freshman Kris Boyd Tweeting at halftime of last Saturday's TCU game has created lots of attention regarding social media and cell phones.
Oklahoma senior wide receiver Sterling Shepard was asked what coach Bob Stoops would do if he saw a player on a "hand-held device" during halftime of a game.
"If he sees it, he'll probably take it and snap it," Shepard said.
Asked a few hours later about Shepard's take, Stoops agreed: "Probably a fair assessment."
Short Yardage
Freshman Ryan Willis will be Kansas' starting quarterback against No. 3 Baylor Saturday. Junior quarterback Montell Cozart is out with a shoulder sprain and backup Deondre Ford is done for the season with a thumb injury. The Jayhawks lost senior quarterback Michael Cummings to a season-ending knee injury during the spring game.
Baylor's starting quarterback at Kansas will be junior Seth Russell, the nation's top-rated passer. In 2011, current Kansas coach David Beaty, then an assistant with the Jayhawks, recruited Russell, who verbally committed. But when KU fired Turner Gill and hired Charlie Weis, Russell reopened his recruitment and signed with the Bears. "The reason you go to a school is because you have that right feeling, and I didn't have that same feeling as when I came here to Baylor," Russell told the Waco Tribune-Herald.
The Sagarin computer rankings in USA Today has three Big 12 teams in the top six and six in the top 25. How the Big 12 schools are ranked: 3, Baylor; 5, Oklahoma; 6, TCU; 19, West Virginia; 24, Oklahoma State; 25, Kansas State; 43, Texas Tech; 57, Iowa State; 72, Texas; 134, Kansas.
Through five weeks, there are 20 undefeated teams still left in college football, compared to 17 at this time last year. The Big 12 has four - TCU, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Oklahoma. Here's the remaining list of undefeated teams by conference. ACC: Clemson, Florida State. American Athletic: Temple, Memphis, Navy, Houston. Big Ten: Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, Northwestern. Mid-American: Toledo. Pac-12: Cal, Utah. SEC: Florida, LSU, Texas A&M.
Recent Reads
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star believes that the rebuilding job facing Kansas coach David Beaty is greater than the one faced by Kansas State coach Bill Snyder.
Oklahoma linebacker Eric Striker speaks his mind and has displayed great leadership for the Sooners.
TCU's record-setting receiver Josh Doctson said he "wouldn't have recruited" himself as a player coming out of high school.
Audibles
Iowa State veteran defensive coordinator Wally Burnham on stopping high-powered offenses in the Big 12:
"It's entertainment. It's made-for-TV football. We're an explosive league. We're going to score a lot of points. We're going to be on TV. We're going to be entertaining."
Baylor defensive back Travon Blanchard on the Bears' defense trying not to be over-shadowed by Baylor's headline-grabbing offense:
"It's just like a natural thing. Everybody talks about Baylor's offense, it's so amazing, and then the defense (is an afterthought). As a defense we go against the best offense in the nation every day, so whenever we play against someone else we feel really confident."
Texas coach Charlie Strong after the Longhorns' 50-7 loss to TCU heading into the Red River Rivalry game with Oklahoma Saturday:
"You have to have belief in the mission...we can play better, and we can coach better. I have so much belief we're going to get it turned. It does look gloomy when you go close, close and then get blown out. ... That game is on me. The preparation, the focus, everything."