On Thursday night, West Virginia will host Baylor as the Mountaineers will look to pick up their first Big 12 win of the season. West Virginia will have a tall task against the defending conference champion Bears on Thursday night in what will be the Mountaineers’ third game on Thursday this season.
Head Coach: Dave Aranda
Aranda has been the head coach at Baylor since 2020, and has a 17-11 record since coming to the Bears from LSU. Aranda’s offensive coordinator is Jeff Grimes, while Ron Roberts is the Baylor defensive coordinator.
Record: 3-2, 1-1 Big 12
The Bears come into this game having also been on a bye week just like West Virginia. Before the bye, Baylor hosted Oklahoma State, but could not prevail against the Cowboys, losing 36-25. Baylor’s other loss was on Sept. 10, losing 26-20 on the road against No. 21 BYU. Baylor picked up a 31-24 win on the road against Iowa State, while also picking up wins against Albany and Texas State.
Offense: On offense, Baylor averages 37.4 points per game. The Bears average 187.8 yards per game on the ground, while passing for 248.4 yards per game this season. Baylor is led by quarterback Blake Shapen who has passed for 1,118 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions. In two conference games, he has tossed five touchdowns and two interceptions. The Bears have a true freshman running back in Richard Reese who has rushed for 400 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
Defense: Baylor’s defense has had success stopping the run this year. The Bears held each of their first four opponents to under 100 yards rushing, and the Bears rank second in the Big 12 in rushing defense. The Bears have 10 sacks and three interceptions this season, and the Bears’ 320 yards against per game is good enough for second in the Big 12.
Last Meeting: The last meeting was an ugly one for the Mountaineers. Baylor won 45-20, which dropped the Mountaineers to 0-4 in the Big 12 at the time. In that game, the Bears scored 21 points in the first quarter.
Game Information: Thursday’s game is set to kickoff at 7:00 p.m. and will be televised on FS1 from Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Photo by Dale Sparks, All Pro Photography
