It was a double-whammy in Waco on Saturday as heavy rain storms dampened Homecoming weekend, and a group of football Cyclones stormed through McLane Stadium, further dampening spirits.
Four games — one month — remain in the 2023 season, and now it's about pride.
Here's a look at The Good, The Bad & The Ugly from Iowa State week.
Individual Performances: There were some good pieces of news on Saturday despite the loss and the rain. Monaray Baldwin continued his excellent run of performances, catching six passes for 117 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown. That's Baldwin's third time with a 100+ yard/1 TD outing in the last four games. RB Dawson Pendergrass 37 yards rushing and two TDs, along with three catches for 39 yards. He always runs hard. Sometimes, it's into a wall, like on the failed fourth and three attempt late in the game. But he brings an energy burst and a nice change of pace for this offense. Sophomore safety Devyn Bobby nabbed his first career interception and career-highs with 11 tackles, seven solo.
New Commit: A fresh entry for the bright side arrived right before the weekend deadline. As Sunday waned, the Bears received a commitment from 2025 Carthage OT Kash Courtney. He joins Duncanville OL Desean Bryant and Columbus QB Adam Schobel in the '25 class. Courtney holds offers from Houston, Louisiana Tech, and UTSA.
Slow Starts: We can't still be talking about this topic entering week ten, right? Wrong.
Ketron Jackson: Just as he was potentially starting to liftoff, Jackson got knocked out of the game due to a clear-as-day targeting hit from star safety T.J. Tampa. That was a play you look back on in describing this game and how things went awry, as Jackson's sudden absence threw everything for a loop on offense. Most of all, injuries suck, so hopefully Jackson sees a quick recovery.
Fight At the Bottom: The loss puts postseason hopes close to zero as the Bears need to go 3-1 down the stretch. They're slight favorites against Houston, but there is zero room for error, and this team gets no guarantees. The Bears reside only above newcomers Houston, UCF, and Cincinnati in the Big 12 standings. And the Cougars could pass them this week.
The Loss: The rain showers soaked McLane Stadium and everyone not under a roomy covering. The action in the field did little to take minds off the drenching. Late in the game, there was a window where things became interesting, but a couple of failed two-point conversions extinguished chances quickly. Mostly, there was little to be excited about on Saturday. Spirits are down in a significant way.
PPG: This team is scoring an average of 22.5 points per game, which is certainly not aligned with expectations, fair or not. Meanwhile, the defense is giving up an average of 33.3 PPG. Ditto.
Recurring Issues: There are specific categories that have reared their ugly heads consistently this season and led to this team's woes. The fact it's week ten and some of these remain relatively unchanged is alarming and speaks to the overall results.
Run Game: The Bears only mustered 67 yards rushing for an average of 2.7 yards per pop. Iowa State deserves some credit, but that could be better. The offense has run for less than 100 yards in three consecutive games.
Run Defense: The Cyclones ran for 162 yards, higher than their season average. The Bears' run defense isn't the worst in the Big 12 — thanks to UCF — but it's still among the lower rung nationally.
Bad Tackling: The missed tackles component remains an area of frustration and a direct cause of some of the big plays given up by the defense and, subsequently, these outcomes.
Third Downs: The defense can't get off the field, the offense can't stay on the field. Saturday alone, ISU was 9-15, while the Bears were 4-14 on third downs. The BU offense was also 3-6 on fourth-down attempts.
Slow Starts: I mentioned this above, but it makes no sense now, especially at home.
Home Woes: More on that below.
House of Horrors: Once upon a time, Baylor Football had a distinct and real home-field advantage, fueled significantly by on-field success and vice versa. The crowds have tried to bring the energy at various points in the last couple of seasons, but the wins have yet to follow or create further fervor. It's a troubling and puzzling development that prevents the program from operating at its full potential.
No Extra Points: Thanks to a downpour moment during Saturday's storms, the Bears' first extra point attempt was washed out and left them chasing points later in the game. The missed kick had some reasoning. But the Bears' subsequent two-point attempts were interesting, and the first one particularly debatable. No matter, in the end, the Bears didn't score a single extra point all day off their three touchdowns.
The Rain: We need the rain, but it put a damper on Saturday's Homecoming atmosphere and added insult to injury as the contest unfolded. Still, the day was warm, and there was no lightning, so it could have been much worse. The crowd did its best to make lemonade out of lemons, but the performance and outcome only left a sour taste by evening.
