TSU AT BAYLOR
The Tigers face a major challenge against a Big 12 school on the road.
Coming off a 40-17 loss to Prairie View A&M in the Labor Day Classic, Texas Southern steps up in class against Baylor. TSU hasn’t won a football game on the field since 2018, a year before coach Clarence McKinney arrived as Tigers coach. Baylor opened with a less-than-stellar 29-20 road victory over Texas State. Expect the Bears to keep their offense simple against the Tigers with little need to open the passing game just yet.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH: Bohanon now running the show
1 Gerry Bohanon compiled pedestrian numbers in his first start at quarterback for Baylor but he guided the Bears to victory. Bohanon passed for 148 yards, completing 15-of-24 passes. He may not have to showcase his arm against TSU, but as the season progresses Bohanon is going to have to show he can be reliable on the deep throw.
That good old Baylor line
2 Baylor’s offensive line graded well last week, paving the way for 238 rushing yards with Trestan Ebner (120) and Abram Smith (118) surpassing the century mark. Pro Football Focus graded Baylor as the offensive line of the week, just ahead of Ohio State. Left tackle Connor Galvin, center Jacob Gall and right tackle Khalil Keith are high caliber.
Can TSU’s defense stay off the field?
3 Against Prairie View, TSU’s defense faced too many thirdand-short situations, and eventually the Panthers wore them down. The outcome wouldn’t have gotten out of hand if the Tigers made stops when needed. The Panthers converted 8-of-16 third-down conversions as well as going 2-of-2 on fourth-down plays. Baylor was 5of-13 efficiency on third down against Texas State.
What happened to the Tigers’ run game?
4 Coming into the season an area that McKinney felt strong about was his running backs. Three veterans returned in the backfield in LaDarius Owens, Jacorey Howard and Dominic Franklin. In its opener TSU netted only 93 rushing yards on 32 carries, less than three yards a carry average. Owens was the team’s leading rusher at 46 yards and a score with a long run of 16 yards.
What needs to improve for TSU?
5 Two areas that contributed to the Tigers’ opening-game loss was special teams, as well as a lack of a pass rush against the Panthers’ Jawon Pass, who was only sacked once. TSU was penalized five times for 50 yards, but three penalties were on special teams. On another occasion TSU’s punter mishandled a snap in the end zone and Prairie View took possession on the 1-yard line.