If Bryce Petty wants to win the Heisman, he needs to start against Buffalo

If Bryce Petty doesn’t play this weekend, he could lose his shot at the Heisman Trophy.

I know, I was one of the many voices that claimed Petty, who suffered two small fractures in the transverse section of his back in the season opener against SMU, needed to rest during the nonconference season to be ready for games where Baylor actually needs him.

And I still believe that to an extent. I believe there are Heisman voters that don’t care what kind of numbers Petty puts up against Baylor’s weak nonconference schedule and do care what he does against the likes of Texas and Oklahoma.

However, the play of backup Seth Russell against Northwestern State created lots of questions about whether Petty was really a legit Heisman candidate or the product of an offensively potent system? This isn’t a new observation or question. Baylor’s fast pace of play has always given its offensive numbers an asterisk, but Russell’s 438 yards and five touchdowns in just one half of play sparks the debate that perhaps anyone can put up gaudy Heisman-like numbers with coach Art Briles’ style and offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery’s play calling.

Of course, one also could argue that Russell put up those numbers because he was facing an FCS Northwestern State team that went 6-6 a year ago and hasn’t beaten an FBS team since defeating Louisiana-Monroe in 2005.

And that’s the narrative Baylor should push if it wants Petty in the Heisman conversation.

Briles said Monday that Petty could be available to play against Buffalo this week. Petty has been running and doing some drills, and while Briles noted that his star quarterback was sore, he wasn’t in any pain.

Is it wise to have Petty play this weekend? Probably not. Is it necessary to keep his Heisman hopes alive? Absolutely. While Buffalo isn’t exactly a juggernaut of the FBS or even the Mid-American Conference, it is a decent FBS opponent. If Petty were to sit and Russell were to once again put up stellar numbers then Petty’s Heisman dreams would be over. He’d be relegated to that section of the ballot that’s reserved for “system quarterbacks” like Graham Harrell or Case Keenum (Keenum, a Briles recruit at Houston).

During Big 12 Conference media days, Briles pointed to Petty’s 2013 stats — he was fourth nationally in passing — and wondered aloud why the quarterback of the Big 12 champion Bears wasn’t invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York.

It’s because there’s already an undercurrent of people who think Petty is a product of a system. Case in point: Petty accounted for five touchdowns in a 41-12 win against Oklahoma, but threw for only 208 yards, 115 fewer than his season average, and he only completed 50 percent of his passes against the Sooners stout defense. It’s important to note that Petty’s rushing touchdowns came on runs of 5 yards and 1 yard. It also didn’t help that he threw for more yards and a better average in a 49-17 loss to Oklahoma State two weeks later.

Petty is a good quarterback, who happens to play in a system that accentuates his talents by calling lots of passing plays in a quick fashion. He not only needs to put up the gaudy numbers, but unlike some of the other Heisman hopefuls, he probably needs to win all of his games. And he needs to put up numbers against Oklahoma that are on par with the ones he puts up against teams such as SMU.

For more Baylor news, visit SicEmSports.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

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