Osler's Razor

So, the end of the season was rough on the Baylor Bears. They had two quarterbacks on the roster, and they both got hurt. Then they pulled a guy who had been a quarterback from his new position as a receiver, and he got hurt. They lost their best receiver and best running back, too, and a key member of the offensive line. At the end of the season, they lost three out of four games, to Texas, Oklahoma, and TCU (having won all of the others to finish 9-3).

Then last night they played UNC in the Russell Athletic Bowl. UNC was ranked tenth, and not decimated by injuries, while Baylor was still missing all of those top players.

What Baylor did was return to an ancient formation, the Single Wing, on offense. Some teams have revived it recently and called it the "Wildcat." It is used almost exclusively to run the ball, a huge change from the pass-happy spread offense that Baylor employs.

It worked. They won, 49-38,  and set a record for the most running yards in any bowl game, anywhere. 

Sometimes, you just have to boldly change strategies.