What a day for Baylor's offense. There was 63 points scored and 700 yards worth of offense. Nick Florence threw for 582 yards and five touchdowns. Wide receiver Terrance Williams had a career day with 17 catches for 314 yards and two touchdowns. In one game. And Baylor lost. Come again?
In a game that lacked any resemblance of a defense, West Virginia outdid Baylor by one score in a 70-63 shootout for their first ever Big 12 win.
The offensive stats from this game are simply mind boggling. There were 19 total touchdowns including nine that were scores of at least 20 yards or more. There was 1508 yards of total offense. The Mountaineers had three receivers with at least 13 catches and two of those receivers finished with over 200 yards including Stedman Bailey who racked up 303 yards receiving and caught five of Geno Smith's eight touchdown passes.
Smith was on fire completing 45 of 51 passes passes for 656 yards and those eight touchdowns without throwing an interception. Through four games, Smith is now completing an unheard of 83.4% of his passes with 20 touchdowns and has yet to throw his first pick of the season.
There was plenty of offense, yes. There was also a clinic put on by both teams in how not to tackle, and how not to play defense in general.
When the film session rolls around on Sunday morning, there's going to be two defensive coordinators scratching their head wondering where to do go from here. Missed assignments and blown coverage's were the norm on Saturday which was compounded by the fact there was plenty of perfectly executed offensive plays by both teams. The result: the Big 12 conference record book is in tatters.
Despite the fireworks on offense, it's hard to imagine with team is feeling great about itself. The Mountaineers hit the road next week to take on Texas in Austin where the points surely won't be as easy to come by. Can they rely on their defense if and when the offense sputters? It certainly didn't look like it on Saturday.
For Baylor, it's the same old story; plenty of offense and a defense that is nonexistent. They did manage to win an impressive 10 games last year using that recipe, but until their defense can stop someone, anyone, the ceiling has been reached in Waco.
West Virginia won, likely preserving their top ten ranking. Baylor lost meaning their stay in the top 25 will last all of one week. But after watching this, I'm still not sure who the better team is. It looked like two teams that, for one day at least, were nearly identical.
West Virginia was slightly more efficient on offense and they didn't turn the ball over. Their defense, however, allowed 63 points which is something Baylor's offense couldn't do against SMU, Sam Houston State, or UL-Monroe.
The grand conclusion from this is that we really don't know any more about either team that we did coming in. Both teams confirmed they could score points at will while both of their defenses conceded they are light years away from anything that is related to "championship caliber."
Are the Mountaineers a serious Big 12 or national title contender with that defense? Nobody is calling Baylor a title contender and their defense is only slightly worse than what the one West Virginia put on the field this weekend.
To keep things in perspective, however, it is just one game. It's easy to overreact. The fact of the matter is both of those offenses are good, really good, and could arguably be the two best offenses either team will see this season.
On the flip side, those defenses might be the worst either will see all season, as well.
That's what makes this game so hard to dissect. There was plenty to be excited about and build upon. There was also plenty to be alarmed about if you're a fan a defense.
You know the saying in spring games; if the offense looked great, well then the defense looked terrible and vice versa. That was Saturday. And how much you can learn from spring games? Not much.
Next week is a new week and for the Mountaineers, that means a trip to Texas where their inaugural run through the Big 12 will continue, no defense or not.
(The highlights are below, and believe me, there were plenty).
