Baylor Football: 3 takeaways from road win over Kansas State

1. Baylor defense could take Bears far this season

By the end of last season, Phil Snow’s defense was starting to turn into a stout unit, taking down Texas Tech and Vanderbilt on neutral turf in their last two games of the season. This year, Baylor has fielded an even more fearsome defense that entered the first weekend of October ranked among the top 25 units in the country.

That showed up once again in Manhattan, as the Bears got a handful of sacks on Skylar Thompson and held the quarterback to 22-of-34 passing for 218 yards. Grayland Arnold picked off the quarterback early in the fourth quarter, returning the ball for a pick-six, but the touchdown was nullified by a holding call against the Bears.

They still turned the tables on the Wildcats, holding their hosts to just 341 total yards of offense — one-third of which came on their final two desperation drives in the fourth quarter after the game was out of reach.

It is a rarity in a Big 12 conference that is far better known for its prolific offenses. This heavy reliance on defense feels strange especially for Baylor, which was known under Art Briles as a team that lived and died by the fortunes of their high-flying offense. But Baylor is good enough when they don’t have the football that they could play a major spoiler in the league this season and possibly even play their way into the title game.