Baylor's performances so far put it in the conversation for No. 1

Is Baylor the No. 1 team in the country?

Beating West Virginia 62-38 doesn’t carry the same cachet it did, say, three weeks ago, but the way the Bears did it was impressive enough to beg the question.

Quarterback Seth Russell, in what could be considered his Heisman coming out party, completed 20 of 33 passes for 380 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for a career-high 160 yards and a score.

This game was a chance for the Bears to avenge their only loss from a season ago and they came out with a fury, scoring 27 points in the first half and ultimately notching their fifth consecutive game with 60 or more points scored.

In the middle of all that scoring was receiver Corey Coleman, who had 10 catches for 199 yards and three touchdowns. He’s now had at least 100 yards and a touchdown in every game this season and, with 16 touchdowns on the year, he’s already broken the Bears single-season touchdown record, and they’re only six games into the year.

After watching his team get shredded by Coleman, West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen went so far as to call him the best player in the country.

It’s easy to look at the Bears’ nonconference schedule and think of a handful of reasons as to why they shouldn’t be considered the nation’s best team. Games against Lamar, SMU and Rice — teams that were 7-10 collectively heading into this weekend — don’t exactly scream strength of schedule. But what is impressive is that there’s been little difference in the way Baylor beat those weaker teams and the way it’s beaten teams within its own conference.

Of course we’ll probably learn more about Baylor during the second half of its schedule than we did during its first. That’s where the more talented teams show up and Baylor won’t have such an easy time dropping 60.

So maybe it is too soon to anoint Baylor the best team in the country, but it’s not too soon to put the Bears in consideration. If Baylor can continue to play well as effortlessly as it has so far this season, it would be hard to dispute its spot at the top of the college football heap.

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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