Much has been made about Week 2 @ Utah being Baylor’s toughest game of the season.

How can Baylor escape Salt Lake City with a win?

1. Expose the Utah Secondary

Utah’s defense has traditionally relied on their front seven to apply pressure while letting their experienced secondary sit back in cover 3. Utah’s injuries at the cornerback position don’t help their case here either.

Starting CB Kenan Johnson (RS SR) is now out for the season. While it is not for certain who will start this week, RS SO Elijah Davis took his place last week and picked up an INT. LCB2 Cameron Calhoun (RS FR) had surgery before fall camp but looks to return this week.

Though Davis looked good against Southern Utah, he is very inexperienced and matches up horribly against 2 redshirt seniors that consistently play in the slot. He will most likely be matched up against Ketron and Josh Cameron on the outside. That leaves Calhoun and starting LCB Zemaiah Vaughn (SR) as the most experienced available player in the DB room. There is likely enough speed between Hawkins, Baldwin, and Jackson Jr. to likely force a healthy dose of cover 3 from the Utes.

Between Finn’s ability to extend plays and the number of seam-beaters we saw have success in Week 1, Baldwin and Hawkins should have opportunties downfield. Expect to see more empty backfield looks to get both in space. If we see good numbers from Baldwin and Hawkins early... grab your popcorn.

Because Baylor can’t expect an clean pocket a majority of the time, this game will be decided on how well Finn responds to the different blitz packages the Utes throw at him. Expect the offense to rely more heavily on screens and quick hitters in between deep shots. If the time to release is anything similar to last week, we will see similar “boom or bust” outcomes.

2. Win the turnover battle!

An obvious key, but even more critical in this matchup. Baylor needs to play their cleanest game of the season today.

In the last 3 times Utah has lost at home, they have thrown at least one interception.

Utah generally struggles on offense while playing from behind, especially if Rising has to play under heavy pressure. Baylor consistently forcing Rising into some mistakes could very well set the stage for a massive upset.

3. Contain!

In Week 1, Baylor corners overall did a fantastic job of staying on their assignments, but the Baylor Cover-3 was beat on 2 consecutive plays, one resulting in a tremendous catch for 25 yards.

Utah and Cam Rising will look to beat us over the top much more, but I am interested to see how effective that is after their WRs only racked up 86 yards in their game against Southern Utah. If Baylor can reliably contain or reduce the number of big plays in 1- or 2-high looks, get ready for a fantastic performance all around from this defense.