• Video: Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini talks about the Huskers' upcoming game against Baylor:
LINCOLN — It does little good for Baylor's dedicated seniors to complain about the cruelties that may have already hijacked their chance at a groundbreaking season.
The more time they spend speculating about what could have been, they say, the less likely they'll be focusing on helping this team improve.
Injuries happen, senior linebacker Joe Pawelek said. And unfortunately for Pawelek and the Bears, their only choice is to move on.
“That's the nature of football,” he said. “There's not a team in the nation that's 100 percent healthy.”
Baylor's once-promising season has suddenly morphed into just another desperate campaign for bowl eligibility.
Maybe the conference's most dynamic playmaker, Robert Griffin, seemed destined for stardom after he threw for 2,091 yards and ran for 843 as a freshman. But the quarterback tore his ACL during the final game of September.
Enter senior Blake Szymanski, a capable backup with 13 career starts. But before he could make his 14th, Szymanski was sidelined by a shoulder injury, leaving Baylor with a true freshman, third-stringer at QB to begin October. The Bears are 1-3 since.
“We've had some frustrating injuries and frustrating loses,” senior safety Jordan Lake said. “But injuries and losses are a part of football. We'll pull together as a team … We've got guys who are positive leaders.”
Freshman Nick Florence is expected to make his fourth start against Nebraska Saturday, but from what Pawelek's seen, the transition process on offense is still ongoing.
So it's up to him, and Baylor's other 10 seniors, to keep striving to get better. Attitudes cannot turn sour, he said, especially for those in leadership positions.
“I realize that kind of comes with the territory,” Pawelek said. “Like it or not, people are going to look up to you.”
That's especially true when you have the success that Pawelek's had.
He needs just two tackles Saturday to pass Ray Berry on Baylor's career list. The senior has tallied 379 career stops, more than any other active Division I player. And so far this season, he ranks second in the conference with 9.4 tackles per game.
But don't congratulate him. Pawelek says he hasn't tapped his potential yet. And, he said, neither has this team.
“You can't ever be satisfied,” he said. “That's when people start to pass you up.”
No, the season's not lost. But with five games left to get three wins and finish .500 for the first time since 1995, the Bears are running out of time.
It's up to the experienced guys to set the tone from here, Lake said.
“We have a lot of seniors who came in the same year and are still here working hard together,” he said. “(We) have guys who sell out and give everything they've got … It helps when you have that camaraderie.”
Contact the writer:
402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com
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