The Texas Tech Red Raiders continue their Big 12 slate in Week 9 when they host defending Big 12 champion Baylor at Jones A&T Stadium on Oct. 29.
The Red Raiders will be playing their second straight home game, having faced West Virginia in Lubbock on Oct. 22. It caps a tough stretch for Texas Tech, as it will be their third game against a Big 12 bowl team from 2021 in four games.
The Bears won last year’s matchup in Waco, 27-24.
Baylor is coming off a 12-2 season in which it won the Big 12 for the third time but won the Big 12 Championship Game for the first time in a dramatic 21-16 win over Oklahoma State. The Bears then beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.
The Red Raiders went 7-6 last season and have a new head coach in Joey McGuire, who was a Baylor assistant under both Matt Rhule and current coach Dave Aranda.
Be sure to stick with RedRaiderReview.com as we preview every aspect of the matchup with the Bears throughout the week
Baylor Bears
2021 Record: 12-2 (7-2 in Big 12)
Head coach: Dave Aranda
Aranda is entering his third year as head coach at Baylor.
Offensive Set: Multiple
Defensive Set: 3-3-5
Returning starters on offense: 6
The Bears have committed to Blake Shapen as their starting quarterback, with last year’s starter, Gerry Bohanon, now at USF. The pair competed during the spring and Aranda said that Shapen proved to be the better passer. Shapen led the Bears to their Big 12 title game victory. He has one of the best offensive linemen in the country in Connor Galvin protecting him. Don’t expect Shapen to transform the passing game right away. The Bears project to be the run-first team they were a season ago, albeit an exceedingly young one.
Projected offensive starters:
QB Blake Shapen
RB Taye McWilliams
WR Gavin Holmes
WR Monaray Baldwin
WR Josh Cameron
TE Ben Sims*
LT Connor Galvin*
LG Mose Jeffery
C Jacob Gall*
RG Grant Miller*
RT Khalil Keith
Note: The Bears have two returning starters listed as backups on the depth chart: TE Drake Dabney and RG Gavin Byers.
* denotes returning starter
Returning starters on defense: 7
The Bears were one of the best scoring defenses in the country, giving up just 18.3 points per game. Nose tackle Siaki Ika, at 340 pounds, make the Bears an exceptionally hard team to run on. Most of the Bears’ returning starters are focused up front, and while the secondary boasts players that have been in the program, cornerback Al Walcott and safety Christian Morgan is the only returning starter.
Projected defensive starters:
DE Cole Maxwell*
NT Siaki Ika*
DE Gabe Hall*
JACK Garmon Randolph
MLB Dillon Doyle*
WLB Will Williams
CB Al Walcott*
CB Mark Milton
STAR Lorando Johnson
WS Devin Neal
FS Christian Morgan*
Note: The seventh returning starter is LB Matt Jones, who is behind Doyle on the depth chart.
* denotes returning starter
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