photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas head football coach Clint Bowen chats up receiver Darious Crawley while leaving the locker room for practice on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014.

After a welcome break from the grind of the Big 12, Kansas University’s football team, led by interim head coach Clint Bowen, is back at it this week, with a Saturday trip to Waco, Texas, on the horizon.

No. 12 Baylor (6-1 overall, 3-1 Big 12) now routinely ranks among the nation’s top offenses and this season is no different. The Bears average 6.5 yards per play and have scored 45 or more points in five of their seven games.

Naturally, the challenge of facing that kind of offense proved to be a popular topic Tuesday, as Bowen met with media for his weekly press conference, before KU (2-5, 0-5) heads south for Saturday’s 3 p.m. game.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Though the Bears are coming off their first loss of the year (Oct. 18 at West Virginia), BU coach Art Briles obviously has done a very good job this year. The Bears are an offensive juggernaut and a well coached team with a good plan and good players.

• From KU’s perspective, you’re a Big 12 football player, and this is the kind of game you came to Kansas to play in.

• With a team like Baylor, you look at the TCU game (a 61-58 Bears win) and both teams had so many possessions, so many plays. There are ways in a tempo game to control the clock and KU will have to execute to make that happen and limit Baylor’s plays.

• Every game comes down to personal battles, as does every play. What is six inches in front of your face? That’s what you worry about, not the numbers Baylor is putting up.

• Baylor keeps adding to its offense every year. Briles and his staff have recruited very good players, which allows them to run their scheme effectively.

• Junior QB Michael Cummings gives KU an added advantage in the passing game it didn’t have when sophomore Montell Cozart started. Cummings’ ability to hit a few of those deep shots the past few weeks has helped.

• It isn’t easy to play Baylor tight, but West Virginia and TCU have shown some ways to make that possible.

• Tempo has taken over the Big 12. The challenge is playing with urgency. KU has to match its opponent’s tempo and Bowen thinks the Jayhawks have reached a point where the defense isn’t effected by uptempo offenses.

• Junior KU WR Rodriguez Coleman had a good spring, has been through some things and will be a part of the game plan going forward.

• It’s good for coaches and players to get away from each other a little bit in an off week. It’s a competitive/intense gig and it is nice to get a fresh breath every now and again.

• Baylor has had a system in place for a while. That brings familiarity to players in the program and makes it easier to recruit specific types of players.

• Bears senior QB Bryce Petty does some things — read-wise — that you have to admire. Defenses try to confuse him but he is able to break things down and make quick decisions.

• On KU offense’s third- and fourth-and-short situations: A lot of times it comes down to, Can you knock a guy back and create the push you need? You have to be tough/physical.

• Kansas senior TE Jimmay Mundine is talented and can make plays for KU in a lot of different ways. They even can line him up in the backfield as a fullback.

• In the past off week, Bowen self-scouted KU’s defense. They’ve been good on first downs but they need to address red-zone defense and a few other issues

• The week off was important for Cummings because he has truly settled in. His leadership improves each day, and so do his decisions with the football. He’s a competitive guy who has been through ups and downs in the program.

— Hear everything Bowen had to say during the press conference: Clint Bowen on coming off a bye week to face Baylor