On Monday, head coach Dave Aranda held his weekly press conference before the Bears (2-2, 0-1) face No. 22 BYU (4-0, 1-0) at McLane Stadium on Saturday. He discussed the last-second loss to Colorado, what to expect from the Cougars and provided updates on the quarterback situation and key injuries.
With emotions still raw in the immediate aftermath of Baylor's 38-31 overtime defeat to Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes, head coach Dave Aranda told the media, "It was a tough and heart-wrenching loss, very hard to take. The team is gutted right now. We're frustrated, and we're going to be hurting all the way back to Waco."
With the dust now mostly settled and attention turned to the upcoming game against No. 22 BYU, Aranda told the media on Monday that he's been pleased with how his team has responded to such a demoralizing loss.
"We're a resilient bunch; the guys fight for what they believe in, and I know they believe in us," he said. "I thought our leadership was strong [at practice]. You could hear Hal Presley, Josh Cameron and Matt Jones; they were loud in terms of [saying] good job, giving praise and 'we got to pick it up.' That was really good to see. They stepped up, and I bet that's going to continue throughout the week."
Last year, losses snow-piled, and the Bears' effort on the field was consistently questioned. Despite the fashion in which Baylor lost to Colorado, Aranda doubled down on his squad and didn't seem concerned about whether this season's team would give up, saying, "That is not something I feel is going to happen with this team. I feel the overall sense of urgency to get it right."
"Losing causes frustration, and when you have a game won, and then you don't win it, that causes more frustration," Aranda added. "The flip side of that is that the guys who are on our team all really care. They're all way committed. They all know what last year was; some of them know what '21 was and what's needed to take the next step, and they're all invested in it. I'm excited about that and going to work with these guys."
To Aranda, the margins between winning and losing are determined by controllable factors, such as being focused and playing with intensity for four quarters.
"It comes down to us getting out of our own way and winning games by our attention to detail, our technique and our execution," he said. "I look at the losses – the first half of the Utah game and the last quarter or so of this last one – we weren't playing with those things. We've got to put a full game together. We have an opportunity Saturday to do that versus a really good team."
Sawyer Robertson (RJr.) got his second consecutive start at quarterback in place of an injured Dequan Finn (6Sr.) on Saturday against the Buffs. Despite the loss, Robertson put together a solid outing, totaling three touchdowns, throwing for 148 yards on 11-of-21 passing and rushing for 82 yards on nine attempts.
He had some great moments, including two beautiful touchdown throws to wide receivers Monaray Baldwin (Sr.) and Hal Presley (Sr.) and a 45-yard rushing touchdown on fourth and short midway through the second quarter.
When asked whether Robertson is the starting quarterback moving forward, Aranda said, "I'm excited about Sawyer. I thought he really played well."
"To manage us through where we got stalled out [on offense] a little bit, to push through on the other side, a lot of that was Sawyer's leadership," Aranda added. "I'm really confident in him. I think he's getting better with each start, and so I'm looking forward to this next one."
In Saturday's loss, EDGE Garmon Randolph (6Sr.) went down early in the third quarter with an injury after sacking Colorado quarterback Sheduer Sanders (Sr.).
Randolph was seen wearing a walking boot on the sideline and did not return to the contest. After exiting the game, Baylor's play in place of Randolph was a significant drop-off; it'll be important for the Bears to get him back as soon as possible.
"[Randolph's] got an ankle sprain, so we'll see," Aranda said. "I think he's probably questionable for Saturday."
Against Colorado, defensive back Carl Williams IV (So.) returned from a knee sprain and played over 70 snaps. Williams IV was touted as one of Baylor's best players on defense throughout the offseason and is a critical piece for Aranda moving forward.
"It's huge; he was a must-have," Aranda said. "For him to come back and not be 100% and to push through and to give of himself like that [was impressive]. … When the bell rang, he was ready to go. To have him back consistently now, we can really plan off him and try to weaponize him, and we're going to need to move forward."
Elsewhere on the team, it's been a revolving door with Alvin Ebosele (RSo.) and Kaden Sieracki (RSo.) both getting plenty of playing time at left tackle, but neither have established themselves as the starter.
"Right now, one of them will play better than average versus the run, and then there's another one that will play better than average versus the pass," Aranda said. "If we could mix the two, we'd have it licked. We're trying to build to get the best out of each individual on their deficiencies; some of the mixing and matching has been because of that."
This weekend, the Bears will travel back to McLane Stadium and look to make up for their last-second loss to Colorado. Baylor will return to its familiar 11 a.m. kickoff time for a matchup against the No. 22 BYU Cougars for the first time as conference opponents.
This season, Aranda's Bears have switched to morning practice times, and he believes the early kickoff will give his team an advantage this Saturday.
“It'll be awesome," he said. "All of us are up way early, and to get up and just play football is something that I think we're getting accustomed to, and I think we get the most energy when it's that way. To be able to have a morning game like that, I think our guys do like that, and they look forward to it."
The fifth-year head coach mentioned that he hopes the Bears get similar support against No. 22 BYU as they did against Air Force on Sept. 14. Beating the Cougars would give Baylor its first Power-Four win at home since 2022 and first ranked win over an opponent since 2022.
"Anytime we get that type of support, I think there's a kind of feeding off of it that we get, whether that's on defense or that's after an offensive big play, and the sidelines going because the student section is going crazy," he said. "You can hear the roar of the crowd. We're all pushing for that. We have to win games to get that, so I'm hopeful Saturday morning that we've got ourselves a good crowd."
According to Aranda, the key to getting back in the win column against the Cougars is being physical up front on both sides of the ball.
"We're playing a physical team," he said. "The O-line is the deal that sticks out the most to me. It is a veteran group, and they played a lot together, and it shows on tape. It's going to test us. It's going to be a battle, and we're looking to play our best."
On offense, BYU's quarterback, Jake Retzlaff (Jr.), beat out former Bear Gerry Bohanon (Sr.) to win the starting job this fall. Through four games, Retzlaff has thrown for 990 yards and nine touchdowns.
Wide receiver Chase Roberts (Jr.) has been a stud for the Cougars, already collecting 310 receiving yards and 17 receptions this season. As a true freshman against Baylor in 2022, Roberts had eight receptions for 122 yards. He's eclipsed the 100-yard mark twice so far this fall.
"The quarterback has taken the next steps and is an effective, efficient passer," Aranda said. "He's scary on the run. They've got good-skill players. They can body you up and make a contested catch, and they've got guys that can run away from you."
