Confidence grows as Baylor improves to 4-2
Football coaches have a habit of talking about players “buying in” to the process of team building.
Baylor coach Matt Rhule doesn’t have to talk about that concept much because his team has proved its level of investment. Rhule said on Monday during his weekly press conference that he respected the way his players worked leading up to this season despite Baylor’s 1-11 campaign last fall.
“I told them all the time in camp how special I think they are,” Rhule said. “Because I said, ‘You’re believing in what we’re doing, you’re doing it day in and day out without having any evidence. When you start to win, you’ll say it’s all worth it.’”
The Bears (4-2) have already quadrupled their win total from 2017. On Saturday, Baylor kicker Connor Martin nailed a 29-yard field goal to lift the Bears to a 37-34 victory over Kansas State.
That was Baylor’s first win against a Big 12 opponent other than Kansas in 19 games and more than two years.
And it means that Baylor is now two victories away from being bowl eligible with half the regular season to go. Rhule knows it’s the tougher half of the schedule, but he backs his team.
“I really believe that we have the type of football team that, if we play well, we’ll have a chance to win every week,” Rhule said. “And, if we don’t play well, we’ll have a chance to lose every week. I tell our guys, ‘Become enamored, absolutely obsessed with playing well.’”
The Bears get a severe test of that theory when they travel to play No. 9 Texas on Saturday at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.
The Longhorns are coming off a 48-45 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday. Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger passed for 314 yards and two TDs and ran for 72 yards and three TDs.
Baylor has to be concerned with Ehlinger as dual-threat QBs have given the Bears problems so far this season.
But Texas has to be worried about a Baylor team whose confidence is growing. If the Longhorns don’t put the Bears down early, it could be a long, nervous game for Texas.