The Good, The Bad & The Ugly from Baylor's Week of Football

Thankfully for the Bears, they're not in Kansas anymore, but it does feel like they've been through a tornado-like storm after their latest trip. 

There will be no postseason, only the offseason after the regular season finale in two weeks. Beyond that, the future is murky. 

Here's a look at The Good, The Bad & The Ugly from Kansas State week. 

The GOOD 

The Opening Drive: That was a beauty of a start for the offense. And a terrific answer to K-State's score to start the game. Unfortunately, that was the closest this contest would remain, and by the end of the quarter, it was 21-7. Still, that was the best-looking drive all year 

Drake Dabney: A definite bright spot and producer this season, Dabney snagged his 5th TD and second 100-yard receiving game of the year on Saturday. 

Blake Shapen: A career-high four touchdown passes for the junior QB, who wasn't perfect and had a couple of turnovers. But a career-high is worth noting as he continues battling protection issues. 

Dawson Pendergrass: A couple of receiving touchdowns for the true freshman. 

Josh Cameron: A terrific punt return that set the table for the Bears' second touchdown. He also added his recent average output with five catches for 41 yards. 

THE BAD 

No Bowl Game: I'm not rooting for the end of football season, nor the end of careers, as many players play their final downs of football here in the next couple of weeks. But I'm also satisfied there's no chance of repeating the Air Force experience from a year ago. The Bears were able to make coaching changes, sign their recruits, and hit the portal while preparing for that game. Those areas remain a significant focus and importance, as they hopefully use the early offseason start for a much-needed program reevaluation or shakeup. Still, missing a bowl game is never a good thing. 

The Four Turnovers: This isn't a 1960s Motown quartet. That's the Bears' turnover total on Saturday, which broke down to three lost fumbles and an interception. Even worse, they led to multiple scores, including two direct touchdowns thanks to a pick-six and scoop and score. 

TCU: Last year, a blowout loss to Kansas State was followed by a brutal walkoff loss to the Frogs. K-State repeated their effort last week, but how about this far less talented TCU team than their 2022 version? Is Kendal Briles going to dunk on Baylor's defense? In my opinion, something along those lines would be justification for a final straw. 

THE UGLY 

The Loss: That was a tail-kicking that got out of hand and destroyed positive hopes and goodwill quickly on Saturday. We’re near the end of the road, and the blowouts outnumber the wins. 

The Downward Spiral: On November 12, 2022, eventual Big 12 Champion Kansas State blew out the Bears in Waco, 31-3, kickstarting a massive downward spiral. On November 11, 2023, Big 12 contender Kansas State blew out the Bears in Manhattan, 59-25, continuing and further feeding that downward spiral. Chris Kliemann and the 'Cats have outscored the Bears 91-22 in the last two meetings. And since that 2022 loss, the Bears are now 3-11, including a 1-8 home mark. 

Aranda Postgame: Saturday felt like a new low for me because the feelings afterward were fresh, as in worse than usual. Saturday's postgame was the first time I felt like even Aranda didn't believe what he was saying and that he was responding out of necessity rather than actual belief. After Houston, I, like many, was fired up and passionate about the level of disappointment, but this Saturday, I could only muster apathy. I'm sorry for anyone expecting a fiery postgame rapid reaction, but all I felt was numb and unenthused. I was resigned to the fate of this season and the total lack of excitement surrounding this program. And looking ahead, Aranda's postgame reaction did nothing to quell my concerns. He seemed stunned at what had just happened and could not offer much except for the same recycled takeaways we'd heard dozens of times before. Yeah, sure, execution and young guys playing can be an obstacle and sometimes valid reasons for losing. But that's not a suitable response anymore. They aren't just losing; they're getting blown out against equal programs and outplayed by those a notch below. And they aren't just losing games; they're losing ground to most of the conference and the state of Texas. But most of all, on Saturday, I felt like Aranda was losing a grip on his own confidence, vision, and ability to right this ship. I hope I’m wrong, but what’s more likely at this point?