The Baylor Bears were probably victimized last season by the fact that the Big XII didn't have a conference title game, but the fact of the matter is that they should be ashamed of themselves for losing the Cotton Bowl in a de facto home game against Michigan State after holding a 20-point fourth quarter lead.
It's tough to see how Art Briles and the gang are ever getting closer to a National Championship than they were last year.
2015 SCHEDULE
9/5: at SMU
9/12: vs. Lamar
9/26: vs. Rice
10/3: vs. Texas Tech (in Arlington)
10/10: at Kansas
10/17: vs. West Virginia
10/24: vs. Iowa State
11/5: at Kansas State
11/14: vs. Oklahoma
11/21: at Oklahoma State
11/27: at TCU
12/5: vs. Texas
Clearly, the beginning of this schedule is paper thin, and if the Bears do manage to go 11-1 in the regular season once again this year, it would be tough to get into the playoff with a schedule which includes zero teams of merit until November.
SEASON WIN TOTAL
Baylor's season win total of 10 proves just how weak this schedule really is this year. Again, if the club isn't 7-0 going into November, there are some real problems, and we have a tough time believing that the Bears are going to lose three of their last five games in the regular season against K-State, Oklahoma, Okie State, TCU and Texas.
However, it certainly would be believable to think that this could be a club which gets off to a really hot start and then fizzles out in a hurry with a docket like that in November.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Bryce Petty is no more, but Briles is bringing back nine men from last season's offense which averaged 581.5 yards and 48.2 points per game. Seth Russell was an adequate replacement last year for Petty when he was hurt, but it's a lot different when you've got the weight of the program on your shoulders.
That said, there are a lot of seniors around him, particularly along the offensive line where there are four seniors.
Shock Linwood and Corey Coleman should both exceed 1,000 yards once again at rushing and receiving respectively.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Shawn Oakman was an All-American last year for the Bears at defensive end, and he is back once again. There are a bunch of returners from this defense from a year ago, but Oakman is one of just four projected starters who are seniors.
This secondary flat out has to be better than it was a season ago, because 264.2 passing yards per game allowed just won't cut it.
SEASON PREDICTION
Baylor is going to be a trendy pick to get into the playoff this year after last season's strong run, even without Petty. Still, we foresee big problems for the Bears.
There's still no National Championship Game in the Big XII to work with, and this schedule outside of conference play is paper thin. If the CFB Committee punished Baylor last year for not playing a title game and playing against a weak non-conference slate, it will probably do the same thing this year, especially knowing that TCU figures to be even better than it was a season ago.
There are much better bets on the board than taking the Bears at 23 to 1 to win the National Championship or +400 to get into the College Football Playoff, though we certainly wouldn't bet against this team playing in one of the BCS bowl games, very possibly the Cotton Bowl for the second consecutive year.
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