Underrated Performer for Baylor against No. 16 Iowa State: Devonte Tezino

Outside of Sawyer Robertson (RJr.) for a majority of the game against No. 16 Iowa State, I’m not sure who truly came to play. There were flashes of competence, but still, the same old Baylor that can’t close, make big plays or run the football.

While Iowa State’s offense put up 542 yards of total offense against Baylor, including allowing Eastern Michigan transfer running back Jaylon Jackson (Sr.) to rush for 111 yards and two touchdowns against them, we’ll stick with the defensive side of the ball for our underrated performer.

Defensive lineman Devonte Tezino (RSo.) did his best to apply pressure on Cyclones’ quarterback Rocco Becht (RSo.) and came away with one tackle for loss on the night. Tezino did a good job of swarming to the ball carrier all night, which led to a career-high seven tackles against Iowa State.

The 43-21 loss to Iowa State only added more fuel to the fire of the Dave Aranda hot seat conversations. It’s really difficult to fathom how Baylor can turn things around at this point, and the optimism seems to be fading fast. Baylor is now 5-15 against AP-ranked opponents and 15-24 in Big 12 play in the Aranda era.

Thankfully, Baylor (2-4, 0-3) has the week off to try to figure things out before heading to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech (5-1, 3-0), which currently sits atop the Big 12 standings.