Turnovers Hold The Key

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Jeff Nixon knows how important it is for the Baylor offense to protect the ball in next week's Texas Bowl matchup against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

"They've got guys who run to the football and knock the ball out, and they've got a good secondary," the Bears' co-offensive coordinator said of a Vandy defense that's second in the SEC and tied for 35^th nationally with 21 takeaways for the season. "That's going to be crucial for us. We have to win the turnover battle to give ourselves a chance. They've been good at it, so it will be a challenge for us."

The Bears are middle of the pack in turnovers lost, throwing 12 interceptions and losing six fumbles. But, with the defense creating just nine turnovers, Baylor is ranked near the bottom in turnover margin at minus-9.

"We just haven't turned the ball over," said defensive coordinator Phil Snow, whose unit did seal the 35-24 win over Texas Tech with a pair of fourth-quarter picks. "You put way too much pressure on our offense to go the length of the field. We've got to get shorter fields. That's the next step we have to take over the next eight months if we're going to be a legitimate defense."

While there's no explanation for ranking last nationally among the 129 FBS Division I teams with two fumble recoveries, Snow said the lack of interceptions (seven) comes from teams taking fewer shots down the field.

"(Tech) tried to throw the ball down the field. And when that happens, you have an opportunity to make more plays," he said. "We should have had three or four picks earlier in the game. We were making them throw the football down the field, so you have an opportunity to make more plays when that happens."

On the offensive side, Baylor has had a chance to get healthier in the three-plus weeks since the win over Tech. Other than senior receiver Jalen Hurd, who had a minor knee surgery, the Bears should be close to full strength for the Dec. 27 bowl matchup at NRG Stadium in Houston.

"We rested some of our guys the first couple weeks of practice, trying to get healthy," Nixon said. "We want to be as close to 100 percent as possible going into the game. It's been nice to rest (junior running back) JaMycal Hasty. He's coming off a minor injury that caused him to miss some time. He probably could have played the last game, we just decided to hold him out. He'll be all ready to go for the game."

Hasty

Hurd, a Tennessee transfer, finished as the team's leading receiver this season with 69 catches for 946 yards and four touchdowns and added 209 yards and three TDs as the main short-yardage back.

Nixon expects other players like redshirt junior receiver Pooh Stricklin and freshman Josh Fleeks to step up in Hurd's absence.

"Its next man up, and we have some depth at the wide receiver positions," Nixon said. "I'm hoping there's not going to be too much of a drop off with Jalen not playing."

In the running game, Nixon said, "we've got three or four really good running backs who can handle the short-yardage and goal-line situations." That group includes Hasty, sophomores Trestan Ebner and John Lovett and redshirt freshman Abram Smith.

After starting the last four games of the 2017 season, sophomore quarterback Charlie Brewer has continued to grow and develop this year. He completed 61.5 percent of his passes (219-of-356) for 2,635 yards and 17 touchdowns with four interceptions and added 266 yards and five TDs rushing.

"He's grown as a quarterback, knowing exactly what we expect him to do at that position," Nixon said. "We're able to throw a little bit more at him each time and every week. He's kind of become a veteran player now. We trust him that he's going to do the job in the pass game and the run game, and he just continues to grow and get better."

On the other side, Snow's defense will be matched against Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig and a West Coast-style offense that "shifts and motions a lot."

"They give you some condensed formations like the (Los Angeles) Rams do, which create problems in the pass and run game," Snow said. "They know what they're doing. I think it will be a fun matchup."

At the reins for the Commodores at quarterback is four-year starter Kyle Shurmur, the son of New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur. He's thrown for a career-high 2,844 yards this season, ranks second in career yards passing (8,579) and already broke Jay Cutler's career record with 63 TD passes.

"He's really poised and just operates the offense really well," Snow said. "He's a coach kid and plays that way. He doesn't have great mobility, and he knows that. They don't run him for those types of plays. But, his arm strength is plenty good enough. You'll see him make some really nice throws. In the SEC, those guys close pretty fast, so he's had to make some nice throws."

The Bears will finish their practices in Waco on Wednesday and reconvene in Houston on Sunday in preparation for the game next Thursday.

Turnovers Hold The Key

Players Mentioned

Charlie Brewer

Trestan Ebner

Josh Fleeks

JaMycal Hasty

Jalen Hurd

John Lovett

Abram Smith

Pooh Stricklin

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