Every Single Snap: It's Time for Baylor Players to Win

Baylor’s 34-31 last-minute defeat at the hands of West Virginia to end the 2023 season was the first of three consecutive conference losses for Baylor by one possession or less. Enough was presented on the field to make it competitive and fun, but not enough to drive the nail in the opponent's coffin. 

Big plays in big moments, but not the right play at the right moment. I have zero analogies to help me communicate how games like those make me feel. 

Frankly, for the last two and a half seasons, most games are reflected on with a sharp cutting, “What if?” Make no mistake, there are plenty of losses to discuss that didn’t end that way, but those close losses are too frequent to ignore. 

Baylor has played 12 one-possession games over its last 30 contests—40% of its games—dating back to the beginning of the 2022 season. Baylor is 4-8 in those one-possession contests and has lost four consecutive games decided by one possession or less.

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Baylor was 4-1 in one-possesion games during the Big 12 Championship season in 2021. Since then, the Bears are 4-8 in one-possesion contests. 

To make matters worse, Baylor had the lead or was tied in the fourth quarter in seven of those eight losses, only to see the potential victory slip through its fingers. In another instance, a 38-27 loss in 2022 on the road against No. 25 Texas, the Bears held a fourth-quarter lead only to see it evaporate in the last possessions of the game. 

In those four victories in one-possession games, only once did the Bears need to rally late to secure the victory after trailing. That was in the certifiably insane contest against UCF, where the Bears scored 27 unanswered points to win 36-35 in Orlando.

Three times, Baylor gave up go-ahead or game-tying scores with 33 seconds or less remaining in the fourth quarter. Oh, and Baylor is 0-3 in overtime games since 2022. 

It’s not only a reoccurring theme since Baylor’s Big 12 Championship season in 2021 when head coach Dave Aranda’s Bears posted a 4-1 record in one-possession games, but it’s now becoming a defining one for the program, which is desperately battling to find its way back to what was an upper-echelon program in the conference for over a decade. 

So what gives? There are plenty of reasons to point to the head coaching position, and rightfully so. Aranda received credit for the historic 2021 season, and he has received blame for never being able to assemble a team and staff that could replicate what happened in 2021. 

The always-discussed lack of using the transfer portal, a delay in ramping up NIL protocols and then a self-reflective move that pushed him back into the defensive coordinator and play-calling role were absolutely crucial for the program and have been fruitful thus far. 

Aranda also changed offensive schemes during the offseason, bringing in veteran play-caller and quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital to take over on the offensive side of the ball. It’s early, but returns are at least promising. 

But all of that brings me back to the origin of this article. None of that matters if you don’t win. And if you can’t win one-possession games, you’re likely not winning much in the Big 12.

We all watched Baylor football go 4-1 in one-possession games on its way to 12 wins and the best season in program history under the watch of Aranda. Why did that particular Baylor team go 4-1? It came down to the players on the field playing their role and making big plays when the opportunity presented itself.

If what I believe I know as fact is indeed fact—that this team is fully sold on what Aranda is putting in front of them and that they respect him with every ounce of their being as a head coach—the time to go is now.

Every single game. Every single kickoff. Every single collision. Every single step. Every single breath. Make it intentional. Close cannot and should not be the standard anymore. Don’t let that be the reason you regret tomorrow.