Baylor serves as a sneak peek
The scout team: How Baylor prepares you for Tech
Bears run offense similar to Tech's, but Red Raiders run it better

By Berry Tramel

Published: November 16, 2006

Texas Tech enjoyed an immense advantage for several Big 12 football seasons. The Red Raiders were the only practitioners of Mike Leach's offense.

No more. Baylor this season has adopted the wide-split spread, and now Big 12 South foes get two looks a year at the unique offense. Some teams get it back-to-back.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State swap foes this week. Last Saturday, OSU thrashed Baylor 66-24 and OU beat Tech 34-24. Now the Sooners go to Baylor and the Cowboys go to Tech. Just like in the old wishbone days, it can't hurt that defenders already have spent a week adjusting to the offense.

"It helps, because it's an offense you have to understand," said Sooner coach Bob Stoops. "Defensively you have to get used to it, because ... it's a different style of spread offense.

"It definitely is an advantage having to work it back to back. We just worked it the entire week last week. We can look at what we didn't do well, change up some things and wrinkles, and hopefully that can help us."

Tech, naturally, is much more advanced than is Baylor. Tech is more experienced with the offense, Tech has players recruited to run the offense and Tech has the mastermind, Leach, behind the offense. Baylor is in catchup mode.

"Playing back-to-back helps out," said OSU defensive coordinator Vance Bedford. "But Baylor is three or four years behind Texas Tech. They don't execute as well as Tech. They don't really run the same plays as Tech. It really is different when you break it down.

"Leach, he is the guru of that particular offense. He knows how to execute it and they do a great job."

Stoops admits to Leach's genius but still maintains the offenses are the same: "What some of the plays they like to emphasize, there's a few differences. But there's still plays you work for both teams."

Three times this season, a team has played Baylor, followed one or two weeks later by Tech. Texas had trouble with both offenses; the Longhorns beat Baylor 63-31 and two weeks later beat Tech 35-31.

But TCU and Colorado benefited greatly from seeing Baylor before Tech. TCU beat Baylor 17-7, then 13 days later beat Tech 12-3.