More of the same at Baylor


Posted August 29, 2008 by Berry Tramel Comment on this article Leave a comment

There will be no Big Bang Briles at Baylor. The Art Briles Era began with a thud Thursday night; the Bears lost 41-13 to Wake Forest at Floyd Casey Stadium, and it appears to be another meager season for Baylor football.

Baylor is void of a winning season since formation of the Big 12 in 1996, and Briles is the fifth coach being asked to win in a league in which every other school in the league has more advantages than does Baylor.

Briles did a solid job at Houston U., but strange why anyone thought Briles would be a big improvement over Guy Morriss. Morriss did a good job at Baylor; he didn’t win enough games, but he was a good coach.

Briles probably is, too, though his choice of quarterbacks was dubious. Briles started Miami transfer Kirby Freeman, who looked awful, which is how he looked at Miami. Freeman played at Owen Field last season and couldn’t throw a lick. So he’s supposed to lead Baylor’s pass-happy offense?

Briles soon went to redshirt freshman Robert Griffin III, a fantastic athlete who was a Big 12 hurdles champ last spring. Griffin can’t throw much better but is a load to bring down. He might have a future. Which is more than we might be able to say about Briles.

Wake Forest is a very solid team, thanks to Jim Grobe, as good a coach as there is in the business. Still amazing that the Demon Deacons made it to the Orange Bowl two years ago. But no way should Baylor lose by 28 points at home to a fellow Baptist school.

Page 1 of 2




Smiley face
COLUMNIST
 |   | 

Berry Tramel, a lifelong Oklahoman, sports fan and newspaper reader, joined The Oklahoman in 1991 and has served as beat writer, assistant...


Advertisement