Much of the drama in the dialogue following the final College Football Playoff bracket was that of complete disregard by two prolific teams from the Big 12: The Baylor Bears, and the TCU Horned Frogs.
However, much of the discussion following Monday’s slate of games made a quick shift with Big 12 teams going 0-3 in their respective bowls, casting a distinct narrative questioning the true strength of the conference in its entirety. While that narrative might not seem fair (nor should it be), there is only one factor that plays into Ohio State beating Baylor out: the Buckeyes won the Big 10 outright.
Had Baylor won against West Virginia on Oct. 18 and beat Texas Tech by a wider gap than 48-46 on a neutral site in Arlington, we might be looking at a different Bowl picture; especially given their biggest wins this season were at Kansas State, and in Norman against the Oklahoma Sooners — a 48-14 victory that practically gift-wrapped one of Sooners’ head coach Bob Stoops’ worst losses in his tenure.
With that said, the Bears are going into the Cotton Bowl with a sizable chip on their shoulders and are expecting an uptempo, high-octane performance from their quarterback, Bryce Petty. The senior threw for 3,305 yards, 26 touchdowns, and just six interceptions this season, and before he was taken out of the game with a concussion against Texas Tech, he was 18/25 for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Petty plays with intensity, and with the Baylor offense ranking No. 12 nationally in passing efficiency, it shows.
Baylor’s weapon of choice is obviously in the passing game, with 286 completions of 467 attempts, and 34 touchdowns for 4,154 yards. However, they’re going up against a pass defense that ranks No. 3 in the nation, so that will be an interesting and challenging matchup.
Michigan State’s defense also limited Nebraska’s go-to running back Ameer Abdullah to just 45 yards rushing in their 27-22 victory over the Cornhuskers, so the Spartans do know how to contain the run game, too.
Offensively for the Spartans, look for senior running back Jeremy Langford to make a difference on the ground. He accounted for all three rushing touchdowns in Michigan State’s 35-11 victory over Michigan, and has 249 carries for 1,360 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. Then there’s senior Tony Lippett who is a two-way player: cornerback, and wide receiver. We’re seeing a lot more of these hybrid players, but with 1,124 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns this season, I’d look for him to be all over the field on Jan. 1.
The Spartans’ two biggest losses this year were against Oregon and Ohio State, and had they beat at least one of those teams perhaps they, too, would be in the Playoff. But, no two offenses could have prepared Michigan State better against that caliber of play, so expect the Spartans to know exactly what they’re dealing with against Art Briles’ Bears.
While it deeply upset Baylor fans and players that it was snubbed from the Playoffs, let’s just hope that Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby is in the kitchen rearranging some things, to make sure that this “One True Champion” debacle never happens again.
Kickoff for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic is at 12:30 PM EST on January 1, 2015, and can be viewed on ESPN.
*Section Photo credit to Ronald Martinez, Getty Images; Featured Photo (above) credit to Mark J. Rebilas, USA Today Sports.
