Baylor's Robert Griffin Out For Year With Torn ACL

When was the last time you were interested in Baylor football?  Let me rephrase that...have you EVER been interested in Baylor football?  Until play-making QB Robert Griffin came along, I'm guessing not.  It's a shame then, not just for Baylor fans but also for college football fans who enjoy watching exciting players, that Griffin will miss the rest of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the first quarter of the Bears’ 68-13 victory over Northwestern State.

Griffin is a program-changing kind of player for a team like Baylor.  His loss will be felt immediately and could have a tremendous effect on the growth of the program.

Losing him is a kick to the stomach for Baylor coach Art Briles, who appeared to have the tools necessary to give Baylor a chance to contend for its first bowl trip since playing in the Alamo Bowl in 1994. Along with Duke, that drought is the longest of any team in a conference with an automatic berth in the BCS.

Plus, as ESPN's Tim Griffin points out, the chances of Robert gaining a medical redshirt will be problematic at best

Griffin’s hopes of obtaining an injury redshirt might be problematic because he played into the third game of the season -- 25 percent of the season. Injury redshirts are typically given only if a player has played 20 percent of the season or less.

Adding insult to injury, The Bears backup quarterback Blake Szymanski suffered a contusion to the right shoulder in the same game, leaving his status as "day to day."  Baylor will have to get it together quickly as they prepare for Kent State this weekend.  They'll want to grab this win since Oklahoma lurks the following week.