Albany at Baylor 9/3/22 - College Football Picks & Predictions

The Albany Great Danes will have their hands full when they go on the road to McLane Stadium to take on the #10 Baylor Bears. Baylor won their last five games, including a 21-16 win over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship and a 21-7 win in the All-State Sugar Bowl over Ole Miss, to finish the year 12-2. 

Albany was one of the worst teams in the conference last season but won two of their last three games to finish 2-9 (1-7 conference) on the season. The only matchup against a FBS opponent was an early season game against Syracuse, where the Great Danes lost 62-24. 

Baylor is a top-10 team to open the season, in large part thanks to Dave Aranda’s quick turnaround of the program. Baylor returns four of their five starters back on the offensive line and should have one of the best offensive lines in the Big 12. Gerry Bohanon will likely;y start the season he completed 62.9% of his passes and threw 18 touchdowns in 12 games last season.

The Bears defense finished 10th in the nation in scoring offense, allowing just 18.3 points per game. They’ll have seven starters on the defensive end, but will be missing Jalen Pitre and Terrel Bernard, both of whom were All-Big 12 selections last season.

Albany’s offense was the main issue last season and struggled especially to move the ball through the air consistently. Sophomore Joey Carino started the last game of the season for Albany and will likely be the guy this season, he completed 59.7% of his passes for three touchdowns last year. This team will also return its top two pass-catchers in Roy Alexander and Jackson Parker.