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Baylor Football

In The Web: What "They" Are Saying About Baylor in Week 2

September 5, 2023
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What unfolded on Saturday at McLane Stadium not only sent shockwaves throughout the Big 12 but nationally as well. Baylor’s 42-31 loss to Texas State was the latest in a five-game skid for the Bears that dates back to last season.

The Bobcats absolutely dominated Baylor in the trenches and were the better-coached team all around once the dust had settled in Waco. It marked Texas State’s first-ever win as a Power 5 — or 4 at this point — program and it was the first time that the Bobcats had ever beaten Baylor as the all-time series now sits at 9-1 in favor of the Bears.

Here is what Chris Vannini and Sam Khan Jr. of The Athletic had to say about the disappointing performance by Baylor and the current state of the program in Year 4 of the Dave Aranda era.

The duo referred to Saturday’s performance as “A tough way to start Year 4 of the Arnada era,” they continued by stating “Losing at home is tough, it’s worse when getting outplayed the way Baylor did by a program outside of a power conference.”

One of the more jarring observations on Saturday was the talent discrepancy in favor of Texas State. The Bobcats had the more talented quarterback and were bigger and stronger in the trenches which is honestly alarming. 

The “Person Over Player” concept for Baylor is a good mantra to have, but does it actually translate in the current landscape or college football? The transfer portal and NIL have rekindled to flames of the old SWC brethren that Baylor once competed with, and now that SMU, TCU, and Houston have been given a level playing field, their deep pockets and geographical footprints should be cause for concern for Baylor.

Baylor’s overall talent level is a glaring concern and the momentum of regression is something that was once again highlighted by Khan in The Athletic again this week.

“That wasn’t a fluke win by Texas State, they controlled the game most of the way,” he continued “What stood out most was the overall talent level. Texas State was a lot faster than Baylor and in Year 4, this program should be peaking, not regressing.”

The Bears also took major dips in the Power Rankings following the loss to Texas State. Baylor opened the season sitting atop the Big 12 Power Rankings according to Pete Mundo and the crew over at Heartland Sports, but things drastically changed as Baylor now finds themselves in dead last heading into Week 2.

14. BAYLOR BEARS
Baylor was a four-touchdown favorite and lost to Texas State. The offensive line is a mess, I’ve never been sold on Blake Shapen and the defense was in shambles. Things could unravel quickly in Waco this season. Let’s wait and see.

As far as the rankings go within the borders of The Lone Star State, Baylor is once again a cellar dweller. According to Mike Craven of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, Baylor now sits at No. 9 only ahead of UTEP, Rice, Sam Houston, and North Texas.

9. BAYLOR BEARS
Baylor joined Texas Tech and TCU by losing to a double-digit underdog in Week 1. The Bears' defense and offensive line left a lot to be desired in the loss to Texas State.

Things aren’t going to get any easier for Baylor this week, as they get set to host one of the most physical teams in the nation, No. 14 Utah. The Utes took care of business in their season opener against Florida 24-11 despite not having a lot of their starters available, including star quarterback Cam Rising.

The experts out in Las Vegas opened the line for the first-ever meeting between the Utes and Bears at -4 Utah, but it’s now shifted even further in favor of Utah and could possibly move even more throughout the week.

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Baylor is going to have to do some soul-searching this week in preparation for Utah and try to figure out a way to get things back on track, or it could be another long season on the Banks of the Brazos.

As always, get the latest on Baylor Football from SicEm365.com and tune into our pregame show on the 365 Sports YouTube Channel or KWTX on local television in Central Texas!

Discussion from...

In The Web: What "They" Are Saying About Baylor in Week 2

9,990 Views | 9 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by boykin_spaniel
BUGWBBear
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So did anyone ask Steele…er Aranda what internal improvements were made today?????
TheOldRanger
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I didn't see the game, I live out of state. So some of what I'm saying is only based on what I've read plus the stats. Shapen's numbers pretty well matched the opposing QB, so I'm not so sure that's the problem. The O line probably needs work, but they still gave Shapen enough protection for him to put up those numbers. I was disappointed at the rushing yardage however. The big disappointment as I could tell was the defense. It appears they weren't stopping anything. and to lose to a team that was a 26-27 point underdog means the defense wasn't doing anything to stop Texas State. I'm an ex-football player, so I'm not just an armchair QB.
If the players were showing lack of energy, that's a coaching problem and poor preparation leading to a "we don't have to do much to beat this group" and consequently got outplayed. I still haven't forgiven Baylor for the Art Briles mess.
wjackson1970
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Bring back Briles !!!! Bring back Briles !!!! Baylor make it right!!!
Karab
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wjackson1970 said:

Bring back Briles !!!! Bring back Briles !!!! Baylor make it right!!!

STFU, one-post troll account
FLBear5630
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"The transfer portal and NIL have rekindled to flames of the old SWC brethren that Baylor once competed with, and now that SMU, TCU, and Houston have been given a level playing field, their deep pockets and geographical footprints should be cause for concern for Baylor."

This is the biggest problem I see. The Transfer Portal and NIL do not work in Baylor's favor.

First, Waco is not Houston, Ft Worth or Dallas. Let's face it, you have to want to go to a small town like Waco and it is an acquired taste.

Second, Baylor does not seem to want to play the NIL or even Transfer Portal game with the rest. Those other schools are looking at the new landscape as opportunity, Baylor seems to be looking at it like something we have to put up with.

Third, is Rhodes and Aranda shrewd enough to win. I can see Briles and Rhule getting rid of players that don't pan out on the field. Pulling a Saban and getting them medical to keep their scholarship. I can't see Aranda, he seems more cut out to Coach Navy or Army than P5.

Fourth, we do not seem to do a good job of hiring Coaches. Offense seems OK, not thrilling but productive. Defense is a mess. Are we too nice to Coach D properly. We seem very passive and slow.

Finally, the pendulum has swung too far the other way. We are now losing productive football players for "team rules". Have we knee-jerked too much to compete at P5.

Many here are observations and questions. Would love productive football discussion. Typically, I just get yelled at and called names when I asked this stuff on the Premium Board.
Wicked_Wombat
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Oh please...STOP with the "bring Art Briles back" cr@p - sure, he was a good coach...and a horrible cancer of a human. Every time you write such garbage...you are basically marginalizing the young women who were sexually assaulted.

Mulkey isn't coming back and neither is Briles...MOVE ON already.
GoodOleBaylorLine
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I am not sure we would beat all of these teams: UTEP, Rice, Sam Houston, and North Texas.
BUGWBBear
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GoodOleBaylorLine said:

I am not sure we would beat all of these teams: UTEP, Rice, Sam Houston, and North Texas.


North Texas already beat us once.
boykin_spaniel
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Can't speak to NIL but I don't think we are prohibited in using the transfer portal. Texas State took a lot of dudes and San Marcos and Waco are similar as small cities sitting in the middle of two big cities.

Our athletic teams do like to play with honor in the sense I'm not sure I'd expect CDA and our AD telling kids to hit the portal like Deion did. I also don't think you can make a career out of the doing that at one stop… but man did we look slow on defense Saturday.

It is fair to question Aranda's hires. I gave him the benefit of the doubt on the Covid year. Figured he brought in Fedora not just as an OC but also as someone with prior head coaching experience. Didn't workout so now we have Grimes who brought Mateos with him. I understand the desire to pair hard nosed defense with hard nosed offense… but I've always thought schools that can't consistently win the 5* guys should operate something with a wrinkle.

Special teams cost us at least one win last year. That was a bad hire. Defense has done nothing but regress since 2021. Offense has been mediocre since the beginning of Rhule. O-line has regressed since 2021.

I hope the Texas State game was a fluke. Young DB's simply lacking confidence and with a little motivation can simply play ball. Better to get burned playing full speed then get burned half assing it. O-line just needed to get a live game in to wake up and gel. Skill players on offense are fine. That's my one positive from Saturday.
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