Baylor Football: 3 reasons the Bears defeat West Virginia
By Dante Pryor
2. West Virginia might have trouble moving the football
Opposing teams know what they will get when they face a Dave Aranda defense. Offenses will see multiple fronts off of their three-man base, and the pressure will come from everywhere.
The Bears are 25th in the country in total defense, allowing 320 yards per game. The strength of Baylor’s defense is the run defense, allowing 96.8 rush yards per game. Baylor football is susceptible to the big play in the passing game, but teams consistently find it difficult to move the football on a down-to-down basis.
Baylor’s defense gets off the field on third down, with teams converting just 34% of third downs.
That is why this matchup favors Baylor. West Virginia will struggle running the football without CJ Donaldson, which means the Bears will play two high safeties all night. It will be a long night if Baylor football can pressure JT Daniels and keep those safeties deep.
In addition to Donaldson’s absence, the Mountaineers don’t have a genuine deep threat to take the top off the defense. Sam James is the only WVU receiver averaging over 15 yards per catch.