Enough talk--let them play!

The excitement is building for the Bears' final season at Floyd Casey Stadium!  Only a few short days to wait until kickoff against Wofford.  I'm as excited as the next guy, and I have high hopes for the Bears this season.  But I, for one, am getting a little bit weary of predictions and prognostications.

The good news is, there is a virtual consensus that Baylor will be heading to their 4th bowl game in as many years.  That's a great milestone, but, realistically, with as many bowls as there are, and with the Big 12 tie-ins, we could have a stinker of a season and still go to a bowl.  Very few fans would be happy if we went 3-0 against a weak non-conference schedule, then 3-6 in the Big 12.  A bowl is nice, but a third-tier bowl that no one cares about is not what we have in mind.

I have seen pre-season polls placing the Bears in the mid-teens down to unranked.  We even got a couple votes as the favorite for the Big 12 championship!  David Ubben, ESPN blogger (until recently--you will be missed!) has Baylor stumbling at the end of the season, losing some tough games and finishing 5th in the Big 12, 8-4 overall, 5-4 in the Big 12.  NBC Sports has the Bears finishing 6th, Sports Illustrated, 4th (9-3, 6-3).  The Dallas Morning News also predicts 9-3, 6-3.

None of these scenarios are bad, and they all get the Bears in a half-way decent bowl.  But my sense is that they will finish strong, have 0 or 1 losses and home, and win win at least 2 of their 4 road games.  I'm looking for a Big 12 championship.  If not, then a top 4 Big 12 finish.

But I say no more predictions!  It's all meaningless until they suit up on Saturday!  Bring it on! Sic 'em!