Questions of the Week: Baylor Opens Season against Tarleton

With Baylor football kicking off its season against Tarleton at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, at McLane Stadium, here are the questions of the week entering the matchup.

How Will the New-Look Offense Perform?

The majority of Baylor’s most memorable seasons as a program came with the spread offense running rampant, whether at Floyd Casey or McLane Stadium.

With first-year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital bringing the spread back to Waco, Baylor’s offense should be fast, fun and exciting this fall.

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Jake Spavital’s offense brings Baylor back to the up-tempo, spread style.

Toledo transfer quarterback Dequan Finn (6Sr.) is an elite scrambler who should be able to make magic happen consistently through the air and on the ground. At running back, former Freshman All-American Richard Reese (Jr.) has reportedly had a great fall camp and will look to bounce back after a sluggish sophomore season.

The Bears will have mismatches outside with wide receivers Monaray Baldwin (Sr.), Ketron Jackson (Sr.) and Ashtyn Hawkins (5Sr.), as well as matchup nightmare tight end Michael Trigg (RJr.).

Head coach Dave Aranda said throughout fall camp that the offense's speed is its biggest strength. Hopefully, the fanbase will be reminded of how enjoyable the spread offense is to watch again on Saturday with a 50-plus point performance.

Will Baylor Dominate an FCS Opponent?

Coming off a 3-9 season in which the Bears only beat last year’s FCS opponent, Long Island, by a score of 30-7, Baylor needs to dominate Tarleton.

For reference, TCU beat Tarleton 59-17 in 2022, and Texas Tech crushed the Texans 41-3 in 2023. Baylor must prove to its fanbase that it can dominate an opponent again, especially after a season where the Bears went 1-7 at home.

As for Tarleton, in the second half of its narrow Week 0 victory over McNeese State, the Texans resorted to their backup quarterback after the starter, Victor Gabalis (Jr.), appeared to injure his thumb.

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The last FCS school BU played was Long Island in 2023.

The backup, Jaden Pete (Jr.), completed just one of his eight passes for four yards. In the second half, Tarleton’s offense totaled just 86 yards with Pete at the helm – 76 of those coming from running back Kayvon Britten (Sr.).

Regardless of who lines up behind center for the Texans, though, Baylor should dominate defensively.

How Will the Offensive and Defensive Lines Look?

A consistent theme on last year’s team was limited line play on both sides of the ball. Aranda and Co. made over 20 additions this offseason, roughly half of which were offensive or defensive linemen.

Despite the numerous additions, the O-line remains Baylor’s most significant question mark on paper. The Bears rarely got a consistent push up-front throughout last season, struggling to pass protect and create holes for the running game.

On the other side of the ball, the Bears are getting back stud defensive lineman Jackie Marshall (RJr.) from injury and added defensive tackle Elinus Noel III (Sr.) and EDGEs Steven Linton (6Sr.) and Jaques Evans (5Sr.) from the transfer portal.

In 2023, Baylor was 114th in the nation in total team sacks (18). Aranda is putting an extra emphasis on creating havoc via the pass rush this fall, even noting that there will be specific defensive packages with two EDGEs on the field instead of one.

Starting the year with a dominating performance up front against Tarleton wouldn’t tell the fanbase everything it needs to know, but it would be a good sign nonetheless.