Bad Blood is thick between Baylor and Texas

In a series that dates back to 1901 there is no shortage of animosity and disdain between Baylor and Texas.

This week marks the 106th meeting between Baylor University and the University of Texas on the football field.  Texas leads the series 75-26-4, but Baylor is 4-2 in the last six meeting and 2-1 in the last three meetings in Austin.  The only loss Baylor suffered during this stretch was a 56-50 shootout in 2012.  Even with a heavily one-sided rivalry, these two teams do not like each other very much.

Last year when the two teams met in Waco there was memorably a stoppage of play due to a brawl on the Texas sideline.  Baylor, out of quarterbacks, had to create a completely new offense at halftime.  Texas escaped with a 23-17 victory over the injury ravaged Bears.

This offseason only fueled an already heated rivalry.  With the dismissal of Art Briles following a sex assault scandal, no fan base was louder or more critical of Baylor than Texas.  Add to that the fact that many of Baylor’s highest rated recruits from 2016 ended up on the Longhorn football team only makes this week’s game more interesting.

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These two schools are 90 miles from each other and battle year round for the same recruits and standings in the Big 12.  To some Texas fans Baylor is an upstart stealing their rightful place at the top of Big 12.  But to Baylor fans Texas is an entitled old guard and has long ago lost their relevance in college football.

On one sideline there will be a coach who is an interim and knows he probably won’t be coaching there next year and on the other a coach who is trying to save his job and his team’s season after the third 3-4 start in a row.

Will Texas be distracted with rumors of Charlie Strong losing his job?  Could Baylor players be too hyped up to play a team that was all too happy about the turmoil at Baylor this summer?  We will have to wait and find out Saturday afternoon in Austin, Texas.