Contain Baylor’s Time

Any defense would have a hard time shutting down the Baylor offense, although Oklahoma State’s three forced fumbles seemed to do the trick last week. The Bears rank No. 1 in offense and will inevitably pick up 400 yards game after game. Texas needs to simply contain this if it wants to win the game. Pressuring Bryce Petty and getting as many bodies in the backfield on every play will be the key to this containment. If Lache Seastrunk has nowhere to run and Petty has nowhere to sit and survey his receivers, the Baylor offense will have a hard time doing much of anything. When the Bears have time, they can pick apart any team with their talent. If Texas can limit the time they have to sit and think about their next move, the win is possible.

Test the Secondary

When Baylor dropped the game to the Cowboys, 47-17, two weeks ago, it was because Oklahoma State beat the secondary. The Cowboys completed 21 passes for 440 yards against a team that only surrenders 22.2 points per game. Texas needs to take a page from their book and air it out to beat the weaker part of Baylor’s defense. Confidence should be high after Texas’ big win over Texas Tech and it needs to pull the trigger on the passing game to minimize the effect of Baylor’s strong linebacking core.

Know What’s On the Line

The Big 12 is a three-way race for the championship heading into the final weekend of games. Texas and Baylor are tied with Oklahoma State at 7-1 in the conference and this game will be a deciding factor in which teams will earn BCS bids. If bragging rights over Baylor isn’t enough motivation for the Longhorns, the chance to capture a Big 12 title should be all they need. Texas should keep this in mind to help it play harder and prove that its performance in conference this season hasn’t been a fluke. Texas has the talent. It just needs to remember that.