The Baylor Bears fell behind by two scores early to Texas Tech. No worries. The Bears roared back to put up 63 in another rout, improving to 9-0 and setting up a de facto Big 12 title game next week at Oklahoma State.
But that’s the conference picture. How does Baylor view itself in the BCS race?
That’s where we start this week's Takeaways. Also: What are the best one-loss and most underrated teams in the country? How would we view Florida State without its Heisman contender? Plus, Ed Orgeron, Oregon and Duke.
1. What is Baylor's place in the BCS title picture?
With each passing season -- or maybe week in some cases -- the nation is learning about Baylor as a program. Inside the walls of the football building, though, the feel is not the one of a fairy tale.
“It’s not like we’re running around here wide-eyed,” said coach Art Briles, whose team has now won 13 consecutive games. “We’ve worked toward this for six years.”
Briles said that Tuesday, the day before Baylor added three years to his contract, which is designed to keep him in Waco for another decade. Stanford’s loss to USC on Saturday night will almost certainly push the Bears to fourth in the new BCS standings, behind only Alabama, FSU and Ohio State. That’s the company they now keep. Baylor is three wins and one wild Saturday of upheaval away from playing for a national championship.