Aranda Frustrated with Defense Despite Baylor Win: 'We Need to Get Over the Hump'

During head coach Dave Aranda’s weekly press conference, he expressed frustration with his team’s defensive effort in Baylor’s 45-27 win over Oklahoma State, saying, “I really thought going into this last game that this was going to be an opportunity for us to play our best game, and it’s just so disappointing with that first half.”

After a strong showing the week before against Arizona State, the Bears took a major step back against the Pokes, allowing Oklahoma State to exceed its season averages in points (14) and yards (324) in the first half alone, surrendering 20 points and 349 yards. While Baylor’s defense clamped down in the second half, allowing just seven points and less than 100 yards, it wasn’t enough, according to Aranda.

“Whether it was the second half of the SMU game, the Samford game, or the majority of the Arizona State game, you could see that there's an improvement here, growth here,” Aranda said. “This play we didn't make in the first week, we're now making it. We're gaining some momentum and traction, but only things that players, coaches, and maybe their moms would notice or care about. We have to build and put four quarters together to get to where we’re on the other side of this. Obviously, we failed horribly to do that, so we're right back at it again.”

With interim head coach Doug Meachem filling in for a fired Mike Gundy, the Pokes threw the “kitchen sink” at the Bears and pulled out pretty much every gadget play possible on Saturday. Aranda wasn’t happy with how his team responded to all the trickery, but believes that they still have the potential to put it all together.

“Whether it’s the gadget plays, the double passes, these things, very similar to some of the stuff with SMU and all of it, we have to get better at that,” he said. “We’ll continue to work at it. The guys are very committed to improving. We need to get over the hump, and I feel like we will.”

Baylor’s star redshirt sophomore running back Bryson Washington had a big day against Oklahoma State, toting the rock 10 times for 77 yards and a touchdown, before leaving the game with an injury. Aranda provided a positive update on Monday, saying, “Bryson was with us today, going through all the things.”

“His style of running is so violent that he invites contact,” Aranda said of Washington. “There was one in the middle of the field and one on their sideline that was pretty violent, but he bounced right back up and got back in it. Everyone sees that, and everyone draws strength from that. He’s our bellcow when he’s out there doing those things.”

With the season-ending injury to Dawson Pendergrass in fall camp, Baylor’s been forced to rely on two true freshman backs, Caden Knighten and Michael Turner. Against Oklahoma State, both Knighten and Turner appeared to take a step in the right direction, combining for 18  carries and 128 yards on the ground.

“There’s positive stuff in there,” Aranda said of his young running backs. “There are times where Michael looks like B-Wash in a couple of the runs with the physicality and the downhill piece of it. Caden did better with hitting stuff downhill. He has an instinct to run sideways and bounce stuff out. Sometimes that’s good. Sometimes that’s not so good. He did better with that, but I think there’s still a lot of room for improvement there.”

After a limited rushing attack across the first couple of games this season, the Bears are starting to find a groove in the ground game as Baylor totaled 219 rushing yards with an average of 5.6 yards per carry against Oklahoma State, something that Aranda was really pleased to see and stressed the importance of maintaining moving forward.

“I’m really proud of the offensive line; I thought they battled through,” Aranda said. “At the end of the game, in the close-out piece of it, they were just literally putting their bodies on people and smashing faces. They were able to move piles that way, and they had nothing left. It was really cool to see. We’ve been trying to get that, and we got it. Now that we’ve got it, we’ve got to keep it.”

The offensive line took a hit, however, as senior right guard Omar Aigbedion left the contest with an undisclosed injury after playing just 13 snaps. Redshirt freshman Koltin Sieracki took his place and is expected to start this week if Aigbedion isn’t able to play.

“Omar’s fighting through it right now,” Aranda said. “I don’t know if we’re going to have Omar. We’ll see. I think he’s kind of tightened up right now, so we’ll see how that goes.”

In other news, offensively, Aranda announced that senior wide receiver Louis Brown IV would be redshirting. Through four games this season, Brown IV hauled in six receptions for 79 yards, half of which came against Samford. Brown IV received rave reviews throughout fall camp and is expected to be a significant contributor next year.

“With the depth that we have at receiver, this is probably the best for all people involved in this,” Aranda said. “There’s been the emergence of a couple of other guys at receiver that have allowed us to find the space.”

Now, the Bears will look ahead to Chris Klieman and Kansas State, who have had a rocky season so far, with losses to No. 22 Iowa State, Arizona and Army, and a last-second win over North Dakota. The Wildcats, however, are coming off a 34-20 home win over UCF, and Aranda seems to think they’ve found a spark offensively, especially with star running back Dylan Edwards returning from injury. Aranda also noted that they are “much improved” compared to where they were in August.

“They were looking for a spark, and they were able to get it in the run game,” Aranda said of Kansas State’s offense. “Their running back is back, and he can obviously create sparks all over the place. Their ability to collect pressures and stunts with their O-Line and get a surge going, and they have guys, if there’s a seam, who can take it. They are trying to get their receivers healthy, so we’ll see what ends up happening, but their run game certainly got going.”

The Wildcats have gotten up and down play from junior quarterback Avery Johnson this season, but the dual-threat weapon had a strong performance in last weekend’s win over UCF, totaling 168 yards and two touchdowns through the air on 18-of-25 passing and rushing for 75 yards on 12 carries.

“He’s improved with every game he’s played this year,” Aranda said of Johnson. “There are throws you wish he wasn’t making, you wish he didn’t see the coverage tilt, you wish he didn’t ID it and wish he didn’t throw it right where it needs to be. He’s a better thrower than you’d want him to be. He’s a challenge and will be a challenge for us.”

Baylor (3-2, 1-1) will face off against Johnson and the Wildcats (2-3, 1-1) at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, at McLane Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.