In eight decades of the Associated Press college football poll, not once have Baylor and TCU both opened ranked in the same preseason.
That streak will surely end in August.
The Frogs of Fort Worth and the Bears of the Brazos carry the highest of aspirations for 2015 after combining for 23 victories last season.
TCU returns 10 offensive starters off an attack that finished second only to Baylor nationally in points per game. The Bears, meanwhile, bring back a 1,000-yard rusher, a pair of 1,000-yard receivers, a consensus All-America left tackle and nine defensive starters.
Not only will the Horned Frogs and Bears be ranked come August, they’ll likely each begin in the top 10 of the preseason polls.
Yet before either can win big this fall, the two have questions they must address this spring.
“We’ve got a lot of people back,” said Baylor coach Art Briles, who last year joined Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops as the only coach to capture back-to-back Big 12 titles. “That doesn’t mean that’s good enough. You’ve got to improve from where you’re at. We want them better right now than what they were when they stepped off the field Jan. 1.”
That won’t be easy.
While the Bears top the conference with 17 returning starters, they also must replace Bryce Petty -- one of the most prolific quarterbacks in Big 12 history who led the league in passing in two seasons as the starter.
Briles is banking Baylor’s budding quarterback tradition of excellence can continue with Seth Russell, a fourth-year junior. Russell competently served as Petty’s backup the previous two years, and is, according to his teammates, a “freakish” athlete with a leaping ability that would have Baylor basketball coach Scott Drew salivating.
But Russell has taken meaningful Big 12 snaps only once in his career -- against Texas Tech last season. And in that relief appearance of Petty, Russell struggled, as the Red Raiders nearly rallied all the way back from a 25-point deficit in the second half.
“We’re a little bit familiar with Seth, and that’s one thing that helps some,” Briles said. “But it’s a lot different between being the sixth man and being the starter. That’s why they have sixth men who come off the bench and spark and they play. When you’re in the starting five, you’ve got to play every snap and be good every transition. That’s what we’ve got to see. We’ve got make sure he can stay consistent with his predictability and his athleticism and getting cohesiveness with receivers and running backs and the tempo is critical in our offense.”
The rest of the offense is in place for Russell to shine the way Petty, Nick Florence and Robert Griffin III did before him. Returning wideout Corey Coleman was an All-Big 12 performer last year. K.D. Cannon hauled in more than 1,000 receiving yards as a true freshman. Shock Linwood was second in the league in rushing. And blindside protector Spencer Drango leads a deep and experienced offensive line.
But Russell still has to show this spring he’s the quarterback that can keep the Baylor offensive machine humming.
“We’ve got our whole O-line back. … We’ve got most of our receivers left. … Our running backs are all back,” Briles said, “But the thing we’ve got to see is [cohesiveness] from the quarterback position. We have to maintain the level we’ve been on for the last six to eight years.”
The Horned Frogs know what they have at quarterback. Trevone Boykin is coming off a breakout season in which he finished fourth in the Heisman voting. With his entire array of receivers back and a season of experience operating the spread system behind him, Boykin could be even more lethal in 2015, which is a scary proposition for opposing Big 12 defenses.
But even with quarterback -- and for that matter, the rest of the offense -- settled, TCU coach Gary Patterson confessed he has more concerns about his squad now than he did at this time last year.
That’s because the core of the defense from last season much be replaced. Veteran All-Big 12 stalwarts in tackle Chucky Hunter, linebacker Paul Dawson and defensive backs Sam Carter, Chris Hackett and Kevin White are all gone, leaving the Horned Frogs with the task of retooling their defense this spring. That task only got more difficult when longtime coordinator Dick Bumpas announced his retirement shortly after signing day.
“We’ve got a chance to be more athletic in the secondary than we were,” Patterson told reporters last week. “But are they as smart? You had a secondary of guys that picked 65 balls in three seasons. Can these learn it and manage it and do it and have the same success? We’ve got a chance to be a better tackling, better blitzing and better man-coverage team. But will they play together? Because those other guys played a lot of football together.”
That will hinge heavily on the development of Ranthony Texada, who after starting as a freshman will be charged with replacing White as TCU’s No. 1 corner. The Horned Frogs will also lean on Derrick Kindred to supply the steady leadership at safety that Carter previously provided.
Linebacker is an even bigger question. TCU’s top three linebackers from last season -- Dawson, Marcus Mallet and Jonathan Anderson -- have all moved on, leaving TCU with almost no returning experience at the position. Early enrollees Mike Freeze and Alec Dunham, as well as Sammy Douglas, Paul Whitmill and former quarterback Ty Summers will all split reps to determine a rotation.
Linebacker, of course, was an even larger unknown for TCU two years ago. Then Dawson, a high school receiver, developed into an All-American, while Mallet, a prep running back, emerged as a sure-tackling wingman.
“To be honest with you, Patterson said, “I’m very excited about all our young linebackers.”
The Horned Frogs and Bears have reason to be excited. Like never before at the same time, both are built to win big. Beginning to answer their most pressing questions this spring can take them even closer.
