Up to the Challenge
9/12/2012 7:07:00 AM | Football
Traveling to Waco to take on the offensively explosive Bears in a rematch from the 2010 regular-season opener, Sam Houston knows that containing Baylor's spread offense is easier said than done, but the Kats say they've seen all kinds of pass-heavy offenses before and they're up to the task.
"The game now is a passing game in all areas, from the NFL down to college to high school," said Kats junior cornerback Bookie Sneed following Tuesday's practice. "We've seen it before throughout the Southland Conference. We're just going to go out there and do what we know how to do and we'll be all right."
Even though the Bears will have quick, talented receivers spread across the width of the field and will run a variety of routes intent on confusing the Sam Houston secondary, don't expect to see many changes with the Bearkats defensive philosophy.
Instead of trying to prevent the deep pass, the Bearkats will continue to force the issue. The Kats will blitz and blitz often, coming after Baylor starting quarterback Nick Florence looking to get him out of rhythm early, as well as sticking to their man-to-man coverage scheme.
"This is a big game and we're going out there and play how we play," Sam Houston safety Darnell Taylor said. "We're going to blitz and we're going to run man. There ain't too much that's going to change."
Coming off their 59-24 season-opening win against SMU on Sept. 2, the Bears (1-0 overall) have had nearly two full weeks to prepare for Sam Houston. Baylor put up 613 yards of offense, thanks to a 341-yard, four-touchdown performance by Florence.
They may not have Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III, running back Terrance or wide receiver Kendall Wright lining up for them anymore, but the Bears showed that they can still be one of the most potent offenses in all of college football.
What makes the Baylor attack so dangerous is that they can line up a bevy of receivers, who can get upfield in a hurry, and prevent defenses from targeting in on a few select players.
"They don't just stretch the field vertically," Bearkats coach Willie Fritz said. "They do a really good job of stretching the field horizontally. They run sideline to sideline. They're a very, very well-coached team with a tremendous amount of team speed."
What also makes the Bears offense difficult to defend is how quickly they can line up and snap the ball from the end of the previous play.
"The tempo, for sure, is what makes them different from a team like SFA, that throws the ball a lot. With these guys at Baylor, it's fast tempo all day. They're sound on their routes and athletic," Sneed said.
The last time the Bearkats (1-0) went up against a Football Bowl Subdivision squad, they were able to upset New Mexico 48-45 in overtime. One of the negatives from that game was that the secondary allowed 434 passing yards, including more than 300 in the second half. Members of the Sam Houston defense say that slugfest against the Lobos helped them gained plenty of experience, which they think will be helpful against the Bears on Saturday.
"Our team is experienced," Taylor said. "I think everybody in our secondary has at least three years of experience, so with that being said, we've pretty much seen it all. We have seen some good receivers. These receivers are good, but we feel like we can play with them."
While the Kats won't be doing much different as far as defense goes, Fritz added that they will have to be technically sound in how they execute their assignments in order to keep the Baylor receivers from having a field day.
"We've got to stay over the top," the coach said. "We're going to do what we always do. We're not going to change anything. I think people do that when they play an explosive team. They're doing what they want you to do.
"We've just got to execute and do a good job with pressing and still staying over the top and trying to get that quarterback off spot. We don't want him to be able to stand back there and pat the ball."
The Sam Houston secondary knows that trying to keep Baylor's receivers in check will be one of the toughest tasks they'll face in the regular season, but that's a challenge they relish having.
"You want to go against the best receivers all day, every day. We're confident going into it," Sneed said. "If you want to prove yourself as a cornerback or a safety, these are the games that you've got to step up and have got to play good in. I'm ready for it. I think we can go out and get the job done.
"We've just got to stay in our technique, do what we've been coached to do and do what we need to do and we'll be all right."
A limited number of tickets in the Sam Houston section for Saturday's matchup with Baylor in Waco are available online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the SHSU athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House in the south end zone at Bowers Stadium.
Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Tickets also are on sale for "The Battle of the Piney Woods" rivalry game with SFA October 6 at Reliant Stadium and the Kats' two remaining home games at Bowers.
For more information, please call the ticket office at (936) 294-1729.
