Fixing the Little Things: Battle-Tested Baylor Looks to Build on Gritty SMU Win

Aranda Reflects on Self-Inflicted Wounds against No. 17 SMU: 'We Need to Play Better'

While it didn’t always look pretty, Baylor escaped Dallas with a 48-45 double overtime win over No. 17 SMU last Saturday, but make no mistake, the Bears know that, even in victory, there was a lot left on the table.

“The margin between winning and losing is so small,” redshirt junior safety Michael Allen told the media on Tuesday. “That game could have gone many different ways, but it’s obviously a lot better to be on the winning side of that. We also understand that we didn’t play anywhere near our best. You gotta enjoy it, then you gotta reset and get back to work. We’ve got a lot of things we can improve on and need to put them on display this Saturday.”

The defense, in particular, struggled with the “little things” throughout the matchup against No. 17 SMU, whether that was on penalties, long-yardage touchdowns allowed or busted coverages on key downs. Allen, as well as head coach Dave Aranda, both know those things need to be cleaned up in order for Baylor to make a run at a Big 12 title.

“A big emphasis for us was the details and little things that matter,” Allen said. “Whether that’s your eye progression on a scramble drill or honestly just missed assignments. For us, it’s just going back to the basics and doing simple better and being really dialed into everything we do. When all 11 of us are doing our jobs and doing our one-elevenths, we’re a very good defense. We can’t beat ourselves. We have to let them beat us. If we’re all doing our jobs, we’re going to be just fine.”

The central bright spot so far has been the passing attack, led by quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who has put together two spectacular games, totaling over 850 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions. For his 440-yard, four-touchdown performance versus the Ponies, Robertson won the AP Player of the Week award as well as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week.

“It’s been pretty sweet; Sawyer’s been ripping it, and he’s been dicing up defenses,” redshirt junior right tackle Kaden Sieracki said. “We’ve kind of been struggling run-game-wise, but I think this week will be a pretty good week to figure out those missing pieces and establish a strong run game.”

Allen added, “It’s been a blast. It’s been really cool to see how explosive they are and how well they work together. Seeing Spav and Sawyer and the relationship they have, and all the receivers as well, it’s been really cool to see. I’m over there with them in practice sometimes, and those guys are explosive.”

As for the rushing attack, Bryson Washington and the Bears have been bottled up in the run game across the first two weeks. Washington finished with 115 yards against the Ponies on 31 carries, but didn’t have the running lanes that we got accustomed to seeing over the back half of last year.

For Baylor’s offense not to solely rely on Robertson’s week-in and week-out, the offensive line has to sure up the run game, something they’ve been diligently practicing leading into this weekend’s matchup against Samford.

“Right now, we’re really focusing on really good double teams, and that’s been a big core emphasis by Coach Miller and Coach Watts,” Sieracki said. “That’s been something that we’ve [repped] today within drill work, and I think that’s going to be pretty crucial for us to make an impact in the run game.”

Aside from the win, the highlight of the double-overtime victory against SMU for Sieracki was playing with his young brother, Koltin, who filled in at center for an injured Coleton Price and played 40 snaps; the younger Sieracki played well, registering a 79.3 grade on PFF — the second-highest mark on Baylor’s offense.

The older Sieracki noted that he and his brother had dreamed of playing college football together since they were young, and their father was in the stands crying when he saw them on the field at the same time.

“He’s got it; he’s going to be really good,” the older Sieracki said of his younger brother, Koltin. “He’s really talented. He’s a natural. He has a natural ability to block people. You can ask any of the offensive linemen; he’s able to just roll in there. I’m biased, but ever since the spring when he came in, he’s been able to roll with the punches and play exceptionally well.”

With Samford, a winless FCS opponent coming to Waco, Baylor has virtually no chance of losing this game. However, Aranda wants his team to stay focused and maintain the mindset as if they were playing the best team on the schedule.

“Coach Aranda made a really big emphasis on it in our team meeting this morning to stay focused and stay driven throughout practice, because as we know, it’s Samford, it’s not an Auburn or anything like that,” Sieracki said. “For us, we really want to focus on staying with tunnel vision; we’re not going to be thinking like, ‘Oh, it’s Samford.’ We’re thinking we’re playing Auburn right now.”

The good news about playing Samford in Week 3 is that it gives the Bears an opportunity to clean up some things and rest key players dealing with injuries before conference play starts next weekend. For the team, however, having to play Auburn and No. 17 SMU right out of the gate was a wake-up call that will ultimately pay off as the season progresses.

“I think it’ll be huge, and it’s something we’ve talked about a lot,” Allen noted. “Different teams have different approaches when they play their non-conference games. For us, there was no easing into the season. We had to be at our best right away. I think that’s going to help us a lot when it comes to conference play because we’ve been battle-tested. We understand the things we need to fix, and we have some time before conference play to get those adjusted and ready to go.”

The Bears (1-1) will face the Samford Bulldogs (0-2) at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 13, at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.