Baylor v. Texas Tech

On November 17, 2012 -- almost one year ago -- Baylor stunned Kansas State 54-24 to take the Unofficial College Football Championship.  Here's what the Bears have done since then:

11/24/12:  Baylor 52, Texas Tech 45 (OT)
12/01/12:  Baylor 41, Oklahoma St. 34
12/27/12:  Baylor 49, UCLA 25 (Holiday Bowl)
08/31/13:  Baylor 69, Wofford 3
09/07/13:  Baylor 70, Buffalo 13
09/21/13:  Baylor 70, La-Monroe 7
10/05/13:  Baylor 73, W. Virginia 42
10/12/13:  Baylor 35, Kansas St. 25
10/19/13:  Baylor 71, Iowa St. 7
10/26/13:  Baylor 59, Kansas 14
11/07/13:  Baylor 41, Oklahoma 12

That's twelve wins in a row -- the longest win in school history, and the longest series of wins in the UCFC since Florida won 13 straight from January 8, 2009 to November 28, 2009.  If Baylor wins tonight, they will have kept the UCFC for an entire calendar year -- and no one has done that since USC held the crown from January 1, 2004 until January 4, 2006.

But the Bears still have a lot of work ahead of them.  They are 5-0 in the Big XII, but Texas is 6-0 in the conference.  And Baylor is up to number 4 in the AP poll.  I don't think enough of the teams ahead of them will lose for them to reach the BCS title game, but it could happen -- and even if it didn't, an undefeated season topped by a trip to the Fiesta Bowl would be spectacular.

Here's what lies ahead for Baylor (home games in all caps):

11/16/13:  Texas Tech (in Arlington, Tex.)
11/23/13:  at Oklahoma St.
11/30/13:  at Texas Christian
12/07/13:  TEXAS

This is quite a gauntlet.  Oklahoma State, which is 8-1 and ranked 12th in the nation, will be extremely difficult to beat.  But a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, and it is absolutely vital that Baylor keep the ball rolling by beating Texas Tech tonight.

The Red Raiders, under new coach Kliff Kingsbury, got off to a 7-0 start against pretty weak competition.  But their last three games are a 38-30 loss at Oklahoma, a 52-34 loss at home against Oklahoma State, and a 49-26 loss at home to Kansas State.  These figures do not indicate that the Red Raider defense will be capable of stopping Baylor's high-flying attack.  In fact, the folks in Vegas have installed Baylor as a 27-point favorite in a game where 84 total points are expected.  That would work out to something like a 56-28 win for the Bears.  We'll have to wait and see; Baylor's defense has only given up 28 points in one game this year.  On the other hand, the Bears may be looking ahead to next week's showdown in Stillwater.

This is the first time all year that Baylor has played one of their old rivals from the Southwest Conference.  The Red Raiders lead the all-time series 36-34-1.  This is their third meeting for the UCFC.  On November 17, 1933, Texas Tech beat Baylor 13-0 to take the title.  On November 24, 2012, Baylor pulled out a wild 52-45 overtime victory to keep the crown.  At the time, it seemed like Baylor's hold on the Big Gold Trophy was shaky.  But they have been rock-solid since that time.

Having come this far with them, I can't help rooting for Baylor to hold the title.  But an emergency school play is putting me out of commission for tonight's game.  I will, however, try to post a recap as soon as possible.  (Of course, if this page is suddenly black and red, you will know that the UCFC has gone back to Lubbock).