Baylor's winless start has team anxiously looking to topple OK State

The word of the week has been progress.

Really, that’s been the hot button descriptor for Baylor opening the season with five losses, including most specifically their last three games three teams who have been in and out of the top 25 this fall. The Bears have been within a score in the final quarter, including twice having the ball to take the lead in the closing minutes of the game.

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Pooh Stricklin

Back on Sept. 17 against Duke, Baylor's defense forced a punt by the blue Devil's with the Bears trailing by four to give the ball back to the offense a third of the way through the final quarter. A week later against Oklahoma, the Bears entered the fourth quarter trailing by four points while having possession of the ball.

Against Kansas State, the Bears entered the fourth quarter down a touchdown but the Wildcats immediately capitalized on a snap over Zach Smith's head as the Bears were driving to tie the contest.

Eventually, this progress that’s hiding between the lines of that 0-5 start has to produce a win. The sooner the better. While all hungry for a win, there’s been a range of reactions concerning the elusive ‘W.’

Right tackle Patrick Lawrence could only laugh about looking for the team’s first win, frustrated that the team’s come so close each week only to have to answer questions about what a win would mean for the team. Every week.

“We definitely need a win. That’s the most important thing to us,” Lawrence said Tuesday. “We’ve been frustrated, not being able to finish in five games. We feel we’re right there.

“Five games in a row, one possession could have won the game and we just haven’t been able to fully execute. So yeah, we feel like this week we’re going to go out and get it done.”

Wide receiver Pooh Stricklin said he doesn’t have any issues with the team’s confidence, either, but whenever the first win comes shouldn’t take pressure off the team.

“Confidence-wise, we have confidence,” Stricklin said about searching for that first victory. “It’s just going out and executing. It’s all effort. So just getting a road win will get a little bit of pressure off our back. Not much, but it’s just going out and executing.”

Other players like cornerback Grayland Arnold have had a more muted response to the situation, focused on the bigger picture than just one win.

“I mean, a win would be nice. But you know, at the end of the day - Coach Rhule and the program and the brand - we just want to come out, play football, play fast,” Arnold said. “And at the end of the day, the scoreboard’s going to show what it shows. Just gonna play football.”

It’s a frustrating process but one that everyone’s bought into with coach Matt Rhule. As he said this week on multiple occasions, it’s just a matter of a few pivotal plays and executing to get over the hump. 

“You’re never as far away as you think you are,” Rhule said after recalling his first season at Temple when it took L’s before finding the win column.

After a week off, Rhule believes his team got better again, and they definitely got healthier.

"I feel like our team took some steps over the bye week. I feel like a couple guys got healthy, and I think our mentality is continuing to get tougher. We’re growing up a little bit, and hopefully we’ll continue to be a better team than we were last week."