MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia looks to get back into the win column early Saturday afternoon when it faces resurgent Baylor, coming off a 24-14 loss at now-12^th-ranked Oklahoma State last Saturday.
 
The Bears (4-1) pulled off an impressive, 31-29 upset victory over Iowa State two weeks ago and also show early season wins over Texas State, Texas Southern and Kansas.
 
West Virginia, meanwhile, is coming off a disappointing, 23-20 home loss to Texas Tech last Saturday following a pair of emotional games over regional rival Virginia Tech and Oklahoma.
 
The Mountaineers (2-3) held off the Hokies in dramatic fashion with a late goal-line stand, and then a week later saw their upset hopes evaporate in Norman, Oklahoma, when Gabe Brkic kicked a 30-yard field goal on the final play of the game for a 16-13 Sooners win.
 
Actually, West Virginia's last two defeats were the result of late field goals and if you count the six-point, season-opening loss at Maryland, a mere 12 points separate the Mountaineers from being undefeated.
 
What's clear is West Virginia is still searching for winning plays at critical moments of games. At Maryland, WVU had the football at the Terrapin 13-yard-line with less than nine minutes to go and was poised to score the go-ahead touchdown, but Jakorian Bennett came up with a red zone interception and the Terps connected on an explosive play to flip the game.
 
At Oklahoma, the Mountaineers were moving into position for a go-ahead score when a bad snap resulted in a 21-yard loss, and the Sooners capitalized by driving the length of the field in a clock-consuming drive that resulted in a game-winning touchdown.
 
WVU also missed an opportunity for a touchdown midway into the third quarter when it couldn't connect on a third-and goal pass from the OU 4-yard line.
 
Then last week, following a lethargic start that saw West Virginia dig itself a 17-0, first-half hole, the Mountaineers came alive in the second half to tie the game at 20. WVU had an opportunity to score the go-ahead touchdown with less than six minutes remaining, but once again, it couldn't connect on a third-down, red zone pass.
 
Following Casey Legg's 28-yard field goal, Texas Tech got a big 42-yard pass play to put itself into position to kick the go-head field goal with just 18 seconds left.
 
That's how close West Virginia is to being a 5-0 football team right now. On the other hand, it is a goal-line stand against Virginia Tech away from being 1-4.
 
What confronts the Mountaineers this week at Baylor, or in two weeks at TCU, or on Oct. 30 at home against Iowa State or for the remainder of their schedule for that matter, are a series of 50-50 games. Somehow, someway, West Virginia is going to have to figure out how to start games fast and then finish them with authority.

"We're a 2-3 football team because we lack consistency; I think that's been pretty clear," coach Neal Brown said during his weekly Tuesday news conference. "At times this season, we've played really good football in all three phases. You can go back at different times when we've played well, but we've not put a whole game together.
 
"It's frustrating. Our fans are frustrated, and I get it," Brown continued. "Nobody is more frustrated than me. Our first half versus Texas Tech was inexcusable. I can't reason it."
 
Later in his news conference, Brown revisited his team's lethargic start against the Red Raiders.
 
"I'm still so (upset) about the way we played at the beginning of the game," he said. "In other sports I kind of understand because you've got all of these games, but in football you get 12. How in the hell do you not get ready to play one game a week? I don't get it, but it hasn't been an issue.
 
"We started fast every game but (Texas Tech) offensively. Defensively, we did a good job against Virginia Tech, but other than that we've struggled on the first drive so we're going to switch things up," he continued. "You have to acknowledge that it's an issue, more so defensively than offensively, but it was a terrible start for our offense (against Texas Tech), and it was no different than the fourth quarter.
 
"We've played really good football in the second and third quarters other than offensively in the third quarter at Maryland, so we'll be creative in how we are going to practice this week," Brown said.
 
Teams have just not scored a lot of points or generated a lot of yards against Baylor's defense this year – even the good ones such as Iowa State and Oklahoma State. The Bears lead the Big 12 in turnover margin at plus-one with the most interceptions (seven) and the fewest interceptions thrown (zero). 
 
Baylor is also one of just four Power 5 teams ranked in the top 25 nationally in scoring offense (22^nd) and scoring defense (23^rd), with the others being Auburn, Georgia and Michigan.
 
Statistically, here are Baylor's areas to highlight:

* Opponent scoring average (17.4 ppg.)
* Rushing yards (238.2 ypg.)
* Opponent passing yards (150.8 ypg.)
* Interceptions/return yards (7-49)
* Net punting (41.6 ypg.)
* Opponent third down conversion rate (34%)
* Fourth-down conversion rate (75%)
 
The Bears have two big-league players on defense - safety Jalen Pitre and outside linebacker Terrel Bernard, who missed the Oklahoma State game with a knee injury. Neal Brown is anticipating Bernard's return for Saturday's game in Waco, however.
 
Offensively, Baylor is going to look to establish its running game with Abram Smith, Trestan Ebner and quarterback Gerry Bohanon, each 210-plus-pounders, and then throw the ball down the field off of play action passes to Tyquan Thornton, who shows 19 catches for 276 yards and three touchdowns.
 
The Bears also have an exceptional punter in Issac Power and an outstanding kick returner in Ebner, who has three career touchdowns, including one this year against Iowa State. All of this folds nicely into the way coach Dave Aranda wants to win football games.
 
"We've got to play better and do so for a full game because in our league these games are going to come down to the fourth quarter," Brown explained. "We've been tied or ahead in the fourth quarter of our three losses and didn't get it done."
 
West Virginia hopes to change that on Saturday at McLane Stadium.
 
The game will kick off at noon ET and will be televised nationally on FS1 (Cory Provus and Mark Helfrich). Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage begins at 8:30 a.m. on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app WVU Gameday.
 
Regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning begins at 11 a.m.
 
West Virginia owns a 6-3 overall record against Baylor, including last year's 27-21 overtime win in Morgantown. The Bears lead the series in Waco 3-1.