Three Takeaways

Baylor Bear Insider Jerry Hill gives his three takeaways from Monday's weekly press conference with head coach Matt Rhule following a 16-9 loss to TCU and prior to the "win or go home" matchup between the Bears (5-6, 3-5) and Texas Tech (5-6, 3-5) at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium in Arlington:

'WIN OR GO HOME': That's the message Rhule put on his phone going into Saturday's regular-season finale. The winner gets that sixth win and becomes bowl-eligible, while the loser starts looking toward next season. "We have five days to be a team," Rhule said. "You wake up on Sunday, and you're either handing your cleats in or you're trying to figure out what time meetings are on Monday. . . . It will be good for our seniors to have a chance to have this opportunity, go out in a showcase-type event. As we continue to grow and develop, we hope that the program is one in which every November we're playing games that matter."
TURNOVERS THE KEY: Since the defense created three turnovers in the 37-34 win over Kansas State on Oct. 6, the Bears have had just one in the last five games combined and are last in the country with seven turnovers gained in 11 games. The common denominator in Baylor's loss to TCU and Texas Tech's 21-6 loss at Kansas State was both teams turned it over three times. "The game really comes down to that most of the time," Rhule said. "We would like to see our defense take the next step and tip a ball, knock a ball out and see what happens."
BIG 12 EQUALS PARITY: Evidence that the Big 12 might be one of the most balanced and even leagues in the country is a five-way tie for fifth in the conference standings at 3-5 and four teams trying to get their sixth win overall and become bowl-eligible. Baylor-Tech is basically a play-in game, while TCU (5-6, 3-5) and Kansas State (5-6, 3-5) are in the same boat in their final games against Oklahoma State and Iowa State, respectively. "When you play every team every year, with only three non-conference games, you will see less 7-4 teams and more 6-5 teams," Rhule said. "As we have gone through the year, Oklahoma and West Virginia gave us fits, but all the other teams have had close to the same talent level, and that makes sense for the number of teams fighting to become bowl-eligible. There are a lot of great coaches and players in this league, and the records show it."

Three Takeaways

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