Gameday Thread: Baylor Welcomes Auburn to Waco for High-Profile Season Opener

boykin_spaniel said:

---

I think we can have a team win a game. TCU did beat Michigan. ASU arguably had Texas beat. The problem is when you don't have the same level of trench warfare as your opponents, you are eventually going to get beat. It's like a hot handed Cinderella in March Madness. They're playing very well but when the 3 ball dries up a team with 4 NBA draft picks is going to beat them.

---

Exactly...the SEC wins most of their games in the trenches like Auburn did tonight. Rhule understands that and that is why Nebraska beat Cincinnati the other night. Dave Aranda is a defensive minded coach but he coaches the players handed to him at Wisconsin and LSU and Baylor (Rhules guys). He has yet to prove he is capable of bringing in the player's to produce a defense that can win consistently.

boykin_spaniel said:

---

2021 was Aranda as coach with Pitre and Bernard. That defense was why we won the Big12 and Sugar Bowl…. But hasn't been great since

---

Those were Rhule's players. So far he has been a well below .500 coach with his own players.

Field goals weren't going to beat Auburn..you see it turned into a shootout late where you had to score 7 every time..

And the kickoff return..you HAVE to kick that in the end zone..that guy returned 2 last year for touchdowns when he was at Tulane..

So that is either on coaching on now following the scouting report..or the kicker for not executing.

I'm okay with losing the first game to Auburn. It's fine…we don't have the horses to play with 80% of the SEC. Then again neither do 100 other teams in FBS.

What I am not okay with is coming up empty in 3 red zone visits and I'm not okay with failing to figure out that Jackson Arnold likes to run the ball and can't actually throw on the run.

Aranda has repeatedly failed to make adjustments. It's insane at this point to refer to him as a defensive guru.

Not so sure Rhule was better recruiter than Aranda.Ratings don't say so.

Rhule was master of player development.

Stefano DiMera said:

---

Not so sure Rhule was better recruiter than Aranda.Ratings don't say so.

Rhule was master of player development.

---

He was also a better defensive coach and Snow has forgotten more about defense than Aranda will ever know.

How many times did Baylor seem to have the exact right blitz dialed up in the exact right situation under Rhule? We never seem to get home under Aranda. His defense ms seem pretty vanilla TBH.

Doc Holliday said:

---

bear2be2 said:

---

True Grit said:

---

All I see is 0-1 and we have line and D issues (again).

---

Our line issues (on both sides) are recruiting issues. Those will likely never be fixed to the level necessary to compete with teams that recruit at Auburn's level.

---

Then it's pointless to even try to win a national championship.

---

We're not winning a national championship. Were you under the impression that was a real possibility?

Fair enough. I still think Rhule could see diamonds in the rough, but I'll give you that. That certainly doesn't make me feel any better about Aranda though.

This is kinda where I'm at. Opener against a power conference team. One with a successful portal shopping spree. If we lose swinging then okay, losing sucks but I'll move on. Losing because you won't stop running it up the gut or make an adjustment on defense? Come on Aranda and Spav. Make Arnold throw it. Bring Bobby or whoever up and tell him to smoke Arnold when he tucks it. On offense keep throwing the slants and digs. When you get Auburn pinning their ears back then mix in a draw play.

I'll actually give the team credit for hanging in there when they are running it down our throats all night. That is demoralizing. Our lines on both sides of the ball got bullied. Were Auburn's lines that good or are ours really bad.

I saw some good players for us but you have to stop the run. Secondary held up but was not really tested. And Aranda has to make better decisions like taking the 3 points early in the game on 4th and 3. And the calls of runs up the middle with zero success is worrisome.

I see problems but hope. Sawyer did not have his best game but threw for 400 yards. He is calm in the pocket; I believe he is a good quarterback and will have a great year.

Yep agree.. that article on Yahoo last week about Aranda ..it seems like every year he's a year late adjusting to things whether it's 'NIL or defensive schemes.

He's in year 6 now. I'm afraid he is what he is..

Guitarbiscuit said:

---

TinFoilHatPreacherBear said:

---

bear2be2 said:

---

I'm not too discouraged, honestly.

Getting whipped on the lines sucks, but they recruit a lot better linemen than we do. That part is what it is.

But we moved the ball well pretty much all night without a run game that will wake up once we start playing Big 12 fronts.

This team will be successful in Big 12 play. Need to play well next week in Dallas to avoid an 0-2 start, though.

---

Yep, overall we may fare ok in the B12. Don't think we'll be at the top, but I expect a better year than I was expecting.

Still think CDA is a terrible game-day coach but we've got who we got at this point.

---

I think we will do ok in the Big 12. But you're right about Aranda not adjusting. No spy at all on Arnold the whole game. It's safe to say he is not good at adjustments. Either he doesn't see them or sees them and thinks it would be better off not adjusting.

---

There's not much adjustment you can make to contend with a line that is pushing yours backward. When first contact is coming four-plus yards downfield, there's not a lot you can do.

Auburn had better Jimmies and Joes up front.

bear2be2 said:

---

Guitarbiscuit said:

---

TinFoilHatPreacherBear said:

---

bear2be2 said:

---

I'm not too discouraged, honestly.

Getting whipped on the lines sucks, but they recruit a lot better linemen than we do. That part is what it is.

But we moved the ball well pretty much all night without a run game that will wake up once we start playing Big 12 fronts.

This team will be successful in Big 12 play. Need to play well next week in Dallas to avoid an 0-2 start, though.

---

Yep, overall we may fare ok in the B12. Don't think we'll be at the top, but I expect a better year than I was expecting.

Still think CDA is a terrible game-day coach but we've got who we got at this point.

---

I think we will do ok in the Big 12. But you're right about Aranda not adjusting. No spy at all on Arnold the whole game. It's safe to say he is not good at adjustments. Either he doesn't see them or sees them and thinks it would be better off not adjusting.

---

There's not much adjustment you can make to contend with a line that is pushing yours backward. When first contact is coming four-plus yards downfield, there's not a lot you can do.

Auburn had better Jimmies and Joes up front.

---

and yet but for a kickoff return for a TD and a head scratching stubbornness by Aranda to not kick field goals in a close game, Baylor could have still won this thing.

Stefano DiMera said:

---

Field goals weren't going to beat Auburn..you see it turned into a shootout late where you had to score 7 every time..

And the kickoff return..you HAVE to kick that in the end zone..that guy returned 2 last year for touchdowns when he was at Tulane..

So that is either on coaching on now following the scouting report..or the kicker for not executing.

---

I don't like passing on points early in the game, especially when you can't run the football.

You can't go broke taking a profit. And field goals early keep you in the game longer.

There's a psychological advantage to finishing good drives with points that turns into an instant momentum swing for your opponent when you come up empty in the red zone.

bear2be2 said:

---

Stefano DiMera said:

---

Field goals weren't going to beat Auburn..you see it turned into a shootout late where you had to score 7 every time..

And the kickoff return..you HAVE to kick that in the end zone..that guy returned 2 last year for touchdowns when he was at Tulane..

So that is either on coaching on now following the scouting report..or the kicker for not executing.

---

I don't like passing on points early in the game, especially when you can't run the football.

You can't go broke taking a profit. And field goals early keep you in the game longer.

There's a psychological advantage to finishing good drives with points that turns into an instant momentum swing for your opponent when you come up empty in the red zone.

---

Field goals in fact could have beaten Auburn if we didn't give up the kick return.

Stefano DiMera said:

---

Yep agree.. that article on Yahoo last week about Aranda ..it seems like every year he's a year late adjusting to things whether it's 'NIL or defensive schemes.

He's in year 6 now. I'm afraid he is what he is..

---

Briles and Rhule had it figured out in years 4 and 3 respectively. So yes, we know he will not yield better results than what he has delivered so far. I guess there are worse predicaments to be in, like having a coach that fails to win a conference game at all. So at least he has a pulse. But the facts are we have a middle C coach who has yielded middle C results.

If the AD and powers that be think that .500 football should warrant a new contract, that is the point where I will start crying and hide in my closet.

BUATX2000 said:

---

bear2be2 said:

---

Guitarbiscuit said:

---

TinFoilHatPreacherBear said:

---

bear2be2 said:

---

I'm not too discouraged, honestly.

Getting whipped on the lines sucks, but they recruit a lot better linemen than we do. That part is what it is.

But we moved the ball well pretty much all night without a run game that will wake up once we start playing Big 12 fronts.

This team will be successful in Big 12 play. Need to play well next week in Dallas to avoid an 0-2 start, though.

---

Yep, overall we may fare ok in the B12. Don't think we'll be at the top, but I expect a better year than I was expecting.

Still think CDA is a terrible game-day coach but we've got who we got at this point.

---

I think we will do ok in the Big 12. But you're right about Aranda not adjusting. No spy at all on Arnold the whole game. It's safe to say he is not good at adjustments. Either he doesn't see them or sees them and thinks it would be better off not adjusting.

---

There's not much adjustment you can make to contend with a line that is pushing yours backward. When first contact is coming four-plus yards downfield, there's not a lot you can do.

Auburn had better Jimmies and Joes up front.

---

and yet but for a kickoff return for a TD and a head scratching stubbornness by Aranda to not kick field goals in a close game, Baylor could have still won this thing.

---

I agree. This was a lot like the LSU game last year. We had our chances to be right in the game.

But we were rowing upstream in both games because of an obvious talent discrepancy.

I was actually really proud of the way we battled and competed tonight. This team will be successful if we can avoid having our will -- and bodies -- broken in the first four weeks.

I don't get the CDA hate - he had us in position to take the game back. It's like RG3 said- prime time players make prime time plays… talent won out tonight

I think what we are saying is the Rhule/Snow Baylor teams were the most balanced, well recruited, win in the trenches teams we've ever seen. The Aranda years have been one good year with Rhule players. Then last year when we beat up on the weak sisters in the 2nd half of the year and made a bowl game only to get beat up by LSU. Now he says we have the best team and depth he has had at Baylor and we get our asses handed to us by a mediocre Auburn team. Aranda is not terrible but under him we will be at best-medicire. I hate medicore football teams because no one cares.

Our OL is good for Big12 standards and our DL with Marshall is similar. Without Marshall it needs to grow fast.

Auburn likely has a top 10 DL in the country. Faulk is a potential top 10 pick in the draft if he has another solid year.

The top 6-8 SEC teams, 3-4 Big10 teams, and sometimes Notre Dame and Clemson have trenches that no one else can really compete with. That's why those teams win national championships.

We are likely to be competitive in the Big12. I would not be surprised if we made a run at the Big12 title going 10-2, however I would also not be surprised if we have some tight games with late defensive struggles and go 7-5 (especially with more injuries. We can't have anymore key losses on defense).

We got a taste of the good life with CAB. We saw how fun the teams were and high octane. Aranda is a swiss cheese sandwich. I don't see how we win a conf championship with him and his team. He won with Rhules guys and that's where we saw the drop off. We got a nice pop once we started paying NIL but I think this is his ceiling 8 wins.

BobbyBoucher said:

---

I don't get the CDA hate - he had us in position to take the game back. It's like RG3 said- prime time players make prime time plays… talent won out tonight

---

A lot of the CDA vitriol comes from his overall time with us. And in that time he has lost more often than not.

Smashmouth said:

---

I think what we are saying is the Rhule/Snow Baylor teams were the most balanced, well recruited, win in the trenches teams we've ever seen. The Aranda years have been one good year with Rhule players. Then last year when we beat up on the weak sisters in the 2nd half of the year and made a bowl game only to get beat up by LSU. Now he says we have the best team and depth he has had at Baylor and we get our asses handed to us by a mediocre Auburn team. Aranda is not terrible but under him we will be at best-medicire. I hate medicore football teams because no one cares.

---

Yep, and that's exactly the reaon nobody really cared when we won our last 6 games last year. We didn't beat anyone of note. And the minute we did in the bowl, we lost.

Simple. Zero defensive adjustments from the looks of it. The Auburn offense was "Arnold run" and we never really used a spy? At some point you have to risk the deep pass and bring a safety up.

What was with us trying to run it up the gut on offense? They have one of the best DL's in the country. Washington's big run, that was called back sadly, was outside. After some success throwing by all means try a draw but don't keep running obvious vanilla plays.

He can beat avg teams that's about it. That's good enough for the board. Mack has no choice but to put up with it. He's a very safe coach who has no drama.

This… Dave won big with a good chunk of the roster being Rhule guys. He's done jack **** with his own players. He's ran out of excuses. His own words this off season were that this was his best roster. His best roster just got handled with ease by a very mid Auburn team

IowaBear said:

---

This… Dave won big with a good chunk of the roster being Rhule guys. He's done jack **** with his own players. He's ran out of excuses. His own words this off season were that this was his best roster. His best roster just got handled with ease by a very mid Auburn team

---

The problem with what he said is that he might be right. This might be his best roster yet. And if that's the case, it doesn't bode too well for a future contract extension.

This damned Mexican coach must be speaking Spanish to our players! DEI hires suck.

I'd have been somewhat understanding if the Auburn receivers had been torching us. Two of those guys will be playing on Sunday and we're down our two best DBs. But we got run over by Arnold and never found an answer?

I'll reiterate. Dave isn't a good DC. I do t think he's terrible. But he's average at best. He gets credited as this guru and I just don't see it at all. He doesn't adjust at all in game

boykin_spaniel said:

---

I'd have been somewhat understanding if the Auburn receivers had been torching us. Two of those guys will be playing on Sunday and we're down our two best DBs. But we got run over by Arnold and never found an answer?

---

I wasn't looking closely, but I wonder if our secondary was getting a lot of safety help or if we had linebackers dropping back often to offset the impact of their NFL ready receivers. It's possible that we just had too many holes to try to patch up. That said, Aranda definitely should have mixed in a spy a few times. His inability to make any adjustments at all is problematic.

For all of us who watched the game. Forget the offensive disasters like not being able to convert on 4th down on the 3 in the 1st quarter. But why do we let Jackson Arnold run all over us all night like he was the 2nd coming of Tim Tebow? He is a terribly inaccurate QB who can only hurt you with his running ability and yet we didn't spy him all night? Unbelievable l

Smashmouth said:

---

For all of us who watched the game. Forget the offensive disasters like not being able to convert on 4th down on the 3 in the 1st quarter. But why do we let Jackson Arnold run all over us all night like he was the 2nd coming of Tim Tebow? He is a terribly inaccurate QB who can only hurt you with his running ability and yet we didn't spy him all night? Unbelievable l

---

I hope someone asks him about it in the press conference. Hey Dave, have you heard of the spy concept?

Smashmouth said:

---

For all of us who watched the game. Forget the offensive disasters like not being able to convert on 4th down on the 3 in the 1st quarter. But why do we let Jackson Arnold run all over us all night like he was the 2nd coming of Tim Tebow? He is a terribly inaccurate QB who can only hurt you with his running ability and yet we didn't spy him all night? Unbelievable l

---

When you can't stop the base run game, you're definitely not going to be able to stop the quarterback run game.

Texas ran that same formula to a national title with Vince Young. It's not as easy to defend as some of you seem to believe.

We just got whipped up front. That's all there is to it. You can't scheme your way out of trouble when your D-line is on skates all night.

BobbyBoucher said:

---

I don't get the CDA hate - he had us in position to take the game back. It's like RG3 said- prime time players make prime time plays… talent won out tonight

---

I haven't been hating on CDA...but this game felt like a measuring stick where we came up short.

But....we really don't know what either Auburn or Baylor is right now...other than Auburn looks better than us.

This is year 3 for Coach Freeze at Auburn and they've recruited well. So maybe they are better than middle of the pack SEC this year. We won't really know that for a few months.

If they turn out to be middle of the pack again...then I would say this is a disappointing home loss. If they turn out to be one of the better teams in the SEC then the way we hung in this game looks better.

I still have a lot of hope for this season. It'll be a challenge...but a road win over the Ponies next week would make everything feel a lot better.