The “worst” loss – Baylor
For any FBS school, losing to an FCS squad is unforgivable. The Baylor football program has gone through a lot of turmoil and issues in the offseason. The fanbase desperately needed the team to get back on the field and out of the news. The Bears retook the field on Saturday, but they were the focal point of college football news on Saturday night.
Baylor opened with a 97.8 percent chance of beating the Liberty Flames, a school that had four FBS wins to its name in school history. Instead, the significant favorite was out-gained, outscored and outclassed in front of a full capacity crowd at McLane Stadium.
Regardless of what else happened around the state of Texas this weekend, the Bears have serious problems. Liberty racked up 48 points, 585 yards and five touchdowns against a Baylor defense that still has to go up against the likes of Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.
Texas is going to win a few more games. The Aggies, despite shaken confidence, will bounce back and pick up a few wins as well. Baylor is in real trouble of succumbing further into the depths of the Big 12. That’s not a good thing from a program that was entertaining hopes of the College Football Playoff three years ago.
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Matt Rhule’s tenure has begun in the most disastrous way it possible could have started. Liberty quarterback Stephen Calvert was 44-of-60 for 447 yards three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was a 3-star recruit with five offers out of high school: Liberty, Florida International, South Florida, Florida Atlantic and Bowling Green.
It’s bad, embarrassing and potentially a sign that more troubling things are coming to Waco in 2017.