Baylor Buried By Utah's Ground Game; Plus A Night That Should Seal Aranda’s Fate

WACO, Texas – As Utah quarterback Devon Dampier scrambled for an easy seven-yard gain in the waning seconds of the third quarter of Saturday’s contest against Baylor, it put the Utes in the red zone for the first time on the evening, which, on the surface, sounds like an impressive feat for the Bears’ defense.

The only problem was that the Utes had already found pay dirt five separate times, and the score sat in Utah’s favor, 35-20. Dampier & Co. tacked on three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the No. 13 Utes' (8-2, 5-2) blowout victory over Baylor, 55-28, and quite possibly, the fate of sixth-year head coach Dave Aranda.

“Way disappointing game. Very frustrated. Gutted really. I was not anticipating that,” Aranda said after the defeat. “Really didn’t see that [coming]. The locker room is tough. A lot of guys are frustrated and angry, and I'm right there with them.”

Aranda hasn’t done anything to merit being retained. Still, some questions popped up this week about whether he’d stick around for 2026, given the uncertainty surrounding athletic director Mack Rhoades and his self-imposed leave of absence that started on Wednesday.

Saturday’s debacle offered a definitive answer that under no circumstances should Aranda return next season at the helm of Baylor’s football program. The latest blowout loss is another embarrassing feather in Aranda's cap, whose team has struggled all year with self-inflicted wounds and is allergic to playing complementary football for extended stretches.

With frustrations at an all-time high, Aranda was asked about his future after the loss. He deflected the question, saying, “Our focus is just trying to win this next one versus a really good team. Then after this next one, trying to win the one after that, and try to be able to show improvement and some excitement with winning, and have it be consistent. Our focus is only that. Whether it’s the noise, the distraction, or whatever it is, we have to keep that on the outside and stay focused on improving. A fair amount of improvement needs to be done.”

Even the section of shirtless students, who provided a much-needed spark in the upper bowl of McLane Stadium, couldn’t save Aranda and Baylor’s defense, as the Bears (5-5, 3-4) surrendered a staggering 483 total yards, with 380 of those coming on the ground for a ridiculously high average of 8.8 yards per carry.

Backup quarterback Byrd Ficklan and running back Wayshawn Parker gashed Baylor repeatedly, combining for 21 carries and 295 yards. Parker ripped off a 64-yard score untouched. Ficklan followed with a 67-yarder of his own and later a 74-yard sprint in which he casually tossed safety Tyler Turner out of bounds on his way to the end zone.

“Defensively, we have one call; we have one defense that we played. There are some changeups in the front, but we played quarters coverage the entire game,” Aranda said. “We have to be able to execute. There are things when the tight ends are together, when the tight ends are apart, when the backs offset a way — I take responsibility for it, but all of it wasn’t executed the way it needed to be.”

He continued, “With the style of their offense, if you're not where you need to be, it hits. Other people have been hit, but we were really thinking we were going to be much closer to it. There were parts and pieces of that, earlier in the game, where we were where we needed to be, and it was two-yard gains, zero-yard gains or tackles for loss, but there has to be so much more consistency there.”

While the defense struggled mightily, the offense shouldn't be exempt from criticism either. Quarterback Sawyer Robertson had, arguably, the worst game of his career. While the box score shows 430 yards and three touchdowns, he threw two interceptions and was inaccurate all night, completing just 50% of his passes (29-for-58).

In addition to the two turnovers, the Bears were just 3-of-6 on fourth down and settled for field goals on three red zone trips, one of which was wide left. Outside of a couple of big runs from Bryson Washington, the Bears could barely get the ground game going, finishing with 133 rushing yards for an average of four yards per carry.

“The run game had to be more consistent throughout the game; we were not able to keep the running game going, so it forced us into second and longs,” Aranda said. “We go for it on fourth downs so much that you try to get to a number on third down so you can sneak a run in there and go for it on fourth down. Our inability to get runs on first down puts us into long second down, where we’re throwing. We ended up having to throw too much, and that’s when the score got away defensively, too.”

Frustrations were high on offense all evening, and tensions finally reached a boiling point in the fourth quarter when wide receiver Ashtyn Hawkins and Utah cornerback Elijah Davis both threw punches following a Kole Wilson touchdown that cut the lead to 49-28. Both Hawkins and Davis were ejected and will have to miss the first half of next Saturday’s game.

“Guys are frustrated, but that’s not an excuse,” Aranda said. “We have to be able to handle all the emotions that come with winning or losing better. We can’t do anything that would hurt the team. I’m disappointed in that. That’s something that I talked to the team about, and that’s something that we, generally, do a job with, so I’m disappointed that showed up tonight.”

There’s no doubt, however, that Aranda, as well as the team, is feeling the heat, but whatever happens over the next two weeks, whether that be a bowl berth or mailing it in, comes down to the leadership on the team, according to the sixth-year head coach.

“Anytime you lose, you get gutted. Anytime you get the ball run on you, you’re probably gutted more,” Aranda said. “There are leaders on our team who don’t accept it, and are not going to stand for it, and are going to fight. When I talked to the team, it was ‘Hey, we need to stay together.’ Our leaders need to be able to push, so they can lead. If there are guys who ain’t doing it, I’m going to see it, and you’re ain’t going to be part of it. We’re going to finish these last two the right way.”

The Bears (5-5, 3-4) will travel to Tucson next Saturday, Nov. 22, to face Arizona (7-3, 4-3) at Arizona Stadium. Game time has yet to be determined.