WACO, Texas -- Seven weeks into the 2013 season, No. 12 Baylor leads FBS schools with an eye-popping 714.4 yards of total offense per game.

The Bears are averaging a Football Bowl Subdivision-best 63.4 points per game, and until last week's 35-25 win at defending Big 12 champion Kansas State, they had scored at least 69 points in every contest.

Here's the really amazing thing: The Bears have done it without the use of a playbook.

Baylor coach Art Briles abandoned the playbook several years ago, and he and his assistants teach their players the fast-paced spread offense through countless repetitions in practice and by watching hours of film.

"When I was at Houston, the first thing everybody wanted was the playbook," said Briles, who coached the Cougars from 2003 to '07. "A guy's not going to read or study it. Kids play video games, so we show them the plays on video. Everything is on an iPad, and we label it and number them. A playbook is something we don't do.

"I'm a visual learner, and people learn differently. If you can see something, you remember it. If you read it and try to interpret it, it's a little different. We do a lot of repetition on the field so guys can learn it."

That's one of the reasons attributes like intelligence, comprehension and maturity are as important as arm strength and athleticism when Briles and his assistants begin to evaluate quarterbacks on the recruiting trail. Many of the Bears' starting quarterbacks since Briles arrived on campus in 2008 weren't highly recruited because of their lack of size or other concerns, but they were each able to absorb the nuances of his high-octane offense and flourish.

Former Baylor quarterback Nick Florence says Art Briles fits his systems to his quarterbacks. AP Photo/Louis Lopez

"I don't think there's a single trait that you look for," Briles said. "I think it's a combination of passing, personality and intellectual capabilities, along with the leadership qualities that it takes. I think it's more of a feel with their type of personality. If it were one or two traits, it would be simple. There would be a lot of can't-misses."

While traditional powerhouses such as Florida, Notre Dame, Texas and Southern Cal have struggled at the quarterback position recently, the Bears have been able to plug in one quarterback after another and not miss a beat on offense. After Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy in 2011, his replacement, Nick Florence, threw for more passing yards last season (4,309 to Griffin's 4,293 in 2011).

Junior Bryce Petty replaced Florence as Baylor's starting quarterback this season, and he ranks No. 2 among FBS signal-callers in Total QBR with a 95.1 rating, trailing only Oregon's Marcus Mariota (97.0). Petty has completed 69.9 percent of his passes for 1,680 yards with 13 touchdowns and an interception going into Saturday night's home game against Iowa State.

It's nothing new for Briles, who has a history of identifying the right quarterbacks for his offense, developing them and then pushing the right buttons.

"[All of the traditional powers] have talent," Petty said. "They always bring in the top-tier quarterbacks every year. It's nothing against their coaching and what they've got going on, but I think it has everything to do with Coach Briles and [offensive coordinator Philip] Montgomery. They're just constantly putting us in positions to be successful."

While coaching at Stephenville (Texas) High School from 1988 to '99, Briles guided his teams to four Class 4A state championships with four different quarterbacks. Each of those quarterbacks -- Branndon Stewart (Tennessee/Texas A&M), Glenn Odell (Houston), Kelan Luker (SMU) and his son Kendal Briles (Texas/Houston) -- played major college football.