Baylor football quarterback Zach Smith is on pace to throw more than 20 touchdowns this year, but how will he fare against Kansas State?
Sometimes, past trends can easily predict future occurrences, especially in the world of college football. This week, the Baylor Bears take on the Kansas State Wildcats. Both teams are headed in opposite directions and enter the matchup with vastly different circumstances at quarterback. Baylor’s sophomore quarterback Zach Smith seems to be putting it all together.
Smith had a great outing in Week 4 against the No. 3 ranked Oklahoma Sooners. The OU secondary is nothing to scoff at, highlighted by talents like cornerback Jordan Thomas. Smith’s stat line against OU is worth some praise considering he tossed four touchdowns and 463 passing yards in the loss.
However, Kansas State offers a much different challenge than the Sooners did. Baylor has to travel to Manhattan, KS, to face the Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Sep. 30. Kansas State will be hungry to recover from their upset loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores just two weeks ago.
Last year, Smith got one of his first starts of his career in a loss to Kansas State. He tossed three touchdowns and three interceptions. A very similar stat line to the one that Smith posted against the Duke Blue Devils in Week 3. We will find out if Smith’s production was a real improvement or if it was just a one game wonder.
Next: 3 reasons Baylor's offense is doomed without Chris Platt
Signs show that Smith could help Baylor compete with Kansas State to try to get the first win of the 2017 season. However, the loss of wide receiver Chris Platt for the rest of the year could be too much to overcome. Smith does still have leading receiver Denzel Mims to work with, though. He’s in line for another repeated, good performance. Time will tell if it’s enough.