Before the season, I predicted that the Baylor football team would get enough wins to qualify for a bowl game. Now that BU is at its halfway point in the year, I think it is safe to say that I will likely be wrong and the Bears are a long shot to go bowling this season.

There are several reasons as to why Baylor is not as good as many believed they would be this year.  And the biggest is the lack of Robert Griffin (out with a torn ACL) on the field.  RG3 was the heart and soul of the Baylor offense in 2008, and without him, the Bears look pretty unimpressive offensively so far. 

Consider these stats: In two Big 12 games, Baylor has scored a grand total of 17 points (last in the Big 12), and they are averaging just 47.5 ypg rushing (last in the Big 12).  In 2008, the Bears scored 24.9 ppg in Big 12 play, and they also averaged 181.6 ypg rushing.  The differences in the two seasons is staggering and they paint a pretty bleak picture of how Baylor's offense is playing.

Baylor's record right now is 3-3.  So if they want to go to a bowl this year, they will have to go 3-3 down the stretch.  If you take one look at the schedule, it's pretty hard to find three more wins for this team this year.  In fact, I'm not sure that they will be favored in any of their remaining games. 

So if Baylor does not go to a bowl game this year, does it mean that all of a sudden Art Briles isn't a good coach?  Of course not.  It just means that if Baylor loses its most dynamic offensive player, their talent level drops dramatically. 

Should Baylor fans be upset that the Bears aren't playing well right now?  Sure.  The Bears looked pretty bad this weekend against an Iowa State team that they crushed last year.  But I don't think it's time for the BU faithful to panic.  The Bears have a good and very experienced coach in Art Briles.  I find it hard to believe that he won't get things turned around at Baylor at some point.  It just won't happen this year.