B.J. Baylor: RB · Oregon State · #4.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
B.J. Baylor
Hits the crease and outruns the angle. Four seasons in the Oregon State backfield to date. One game to point at: 171 rushing yards and 9 receiving yards against Hawai'i — Week 2, 2021.
Play style
Cuts upfield fast. Designed to find the crease, not run through the line.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 20.0% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 11.7% of his carries. 13 carries for 36 yds vs Purdue; 19 for 154 vs Utah.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
43.1% of carries overall (212/492) → 37.3% of Q4-with-lead carries (25/67) — 72.0% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
11 of the team's 28 inside-the-5 carries (39.3%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
OregonLive Nov 2OregonLive Oct 26
Sports Illustrated Oct 23Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Oregon State | 227 | 1,337 | 5.9 | 13 | 68 |
| 2020 | Oregon State | 27 | 124 | 4.6 | 1 | 25 |
| 2019 | Oregon State | 30 | 177 | 5.9 | 3 | 74 |
| 2018 | Oregon State | 24 | 80 | 3.3 | 1 | 23 |
| Career | 308 | 1,718 | 5.6 | 18 | 74 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Oregon State | 8 | 75 | 9.4 | 0 | 17 |
| 2020 | Oregon State | 5 | 30 | 6.0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2019 | Oregon State | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2018 | Oregon State | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Career | 16 | 115 | 7.2 | 0 | 17 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 21-30@ Purdue | 9 | 24 | 2.7 | 2 | 9 | |
| Wk 2 | W 45-27vs Hawai'i | 18 | 171 | 9.5 | 3 | 66 | Season-high 171 yds |
| Wk 3 | W 42-0vs Idaho | 11 | 69 | 6.3 | 2 | 20 | |
| Wk 4 | W 45-27@ USC | 23 | 158 | 6.9 | 0 | 40 | 158-yard day |
| Wk 5 | W 27-24vs Washington | 20 | 111 | 5.6 | 2 | 27 | |
| Wk 6 | L 24-31@ Washington State | 18 | 145 | 8.1 | 0 | 50 | |
| Wk 8 | W 42-34vs Utah | 19 | 152 | 8.0 | 1 | 68 | 152-yard day |
| Wk 9 | L 25-39@ California | 13 | 42 | 3.2 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 10 | L 34-37@ Colorado | 22 | 98 | 4.5 | 1 | 22 | |
| Wk 11 | W 35-14vs Stanford | 23 | 80 | 3.5 | 1 | 8 | |
| Wk 12 | W 24-10vs Arizona State | 20 | 150 | 7.5 | 0 | 24 | 150-yard day |
| Wk 13 | L 29-38@ No. 11 Oregon | 13 | 59 | 4.5 | 1 | 15 | |
| Total | 209 | 1259 | 6.0 | 13 | 68 |
Week 2 · 2021
W 45-27
vs Hawai'i
171 rush yds (18 car) · 3 TD
With C. Nolan — 302 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 88.7 · 38 rush yds (7 car) · L. Loecher — 47.5 yards per punt · 2 punts · 1 inside the 20
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
51%194 carriesFumble rate
1.8%4 of 227 carries · 2 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds5.9 yds/carry on 227 carries · 15% explosive (10+ yds) · 51% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
4 seasons under Jonathan Smith — 16-28 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 122 | 6.7 | 1.5 |
| Road6g | 87.7 | 5.0 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 113 | 6.5 | 1.5 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 96.8 | 5.2 | 0.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jonathan Smith
Pass share
40.8%
347 pass / 503 run
Plays / game
70.8
12 games
Team sack rate
4.1%
367 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2021
227 carries and 8 catches in 12 games, more touches a game than nearly every FBS running back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
How it ended
Four seasons at Oregon State, 1,718 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
Coaching lineage · 2018–2021
1 coachPlayed every college season under Jonathan Smith.
