Player's Club: 'It Should be an Emphasis That We Destroy Whoever Comes into McLane'
Following Baylor’s last-second loss to Arizona State, 27-24, wide receiver Josh Cameron sat solemn, knowing that he was part of the reason why the Bears fell just short against the Sun Devils; he fumbled twice, and a miscommunication between him and quarterback Sawyer Robertson led to a crucial interception in the third quarter.
As one of the leaders of the program, Cameron knew that he couldn’t keep his head down for long and had to bounce back. Ahead of the Oklahoma State matchup, he delivered an impassioned speech to the team, urging them to identify their ‘Why?’ and emphasizing the importance of playing for one another.
“My message was explaining to the guys the different ‘whys’ that you have, like, ‘What is your why?’ I do this for God. I do this for my mom, who was pronounced dead for 19 minutes, but still came back for me, my brother and our whole family,” Cameron said. “That was my ‘why.’ I was really stressing the importance of ‘that’s my why,’ but each one of you had a different ‘why,’ so remember that and go out there and truly play for each other. That’s what brotherhood is.”
Against the Pokes, Baylor’s dynamic passing attack totaled over 390 yards and four touchdowns, with Cameron hauling in six passes from Robertson for 98 yards.
The ground game, however, got consistently going for the first time this season, with Bryson Washington, Caden Knighten and Michael Turner combining for 200 yards on a solid 5.6 yards per carry. With a balanced attack both through the air and on the ground, Cameron believes the Bears have the talent to be one of the best offenses in the conference as Big 12 play gets going.
“It’s always super important to get the run game going,” Cameron said. “Once B-Wash and all the other backs get going, especially Caden Knighten with that long run he had, once they start loading the box, that gets us the one-on-one opportunities and makes our job easier. As long as we can keep doing that and take the pressure off of us, it frees us up a whole lot more.”
The defense, however, didn’t have as good an afternoon in the 45-27 win over the Cowboys. Oklahoma State exceeded its season averages in points (14) and yards (324) in the first half alone, totaling 20 points and 349 yards, but Baylor’s defense clamped down in the second half, allowing just seven points and less than 100 yards.
“It was really needed,” junior safety Micah Gifford said of the second-half effort against the Pokes. “That first half wasn’t the standard. It wasn’t what we are. That second half is what we are. We need to go into Kansas State doing exactly what that second half was.”
When asked if that second half can be a turning point for the defense, Gifford noted, “Yeah, but I also feel like it’s always been us. We’ve always been the defense that is that good, and that should shut people out. We just have to have all 11 people playing good and playing together at the same time.”
As evident against Oklahoma State, the Bears have yet to put together four consecutive quarters of complementary football this season, which is something the players understand is necessary to reach their goals.
“We haven’t put together all three sides of the ball consistently,” Gifford said. “The defense goes out there and gets a three-and-out stop, the special teams needs to go out there and put the offense in great field position, and the offense needs to go out and score. We just need to keep repeating that. We haven’t been able to repeat that and keep the momentum on our side. Once we’re able to do that, that's when we’re going to steamroll people and show the world Baylor football.”
This week, the Bears have a good opportunity to “put it all together” as they welcome the Kansas State Wildcats to McLane Stadium, but with Baylor’s recent struggles at home, that’s far from a sure thing.
“That’s definitely been a point of emphasis this week,” Cameron said of defending home-field. “Really, just bringing that energy back to McLane is the main thing. We’re handling our business on the road, but it’s about executing, being physical and taking care of business at home. Fans want to see that this is our home territory. Fans want to come home and be like, ‘Oh yeah. It’s Baylor. We’re going to get the win.’ That’s the main focus. We’re taking it game by game, but specifically getting this dub at home.”
There’s no doubt the players are aware of the home woes, as the Bears are 4-12 against Power Four opponents at McLane Stadium, dating back to the latter half of the 2022 season, and are somehow 1-9 in big games during that stretch, but oddly enough have a solid 10-8 record on the road.
“We need to prove that we can play good at McLane and that we can come in and defend our stadium and put on a show for our fans,” Gifford said.
When asked about the home-road discrepancies, Gifford added, “I wouldn’t necessarily call it frustrating because it is a good thing that we’re dominating on the road, but I feel like it should be an emphasis that we destroy whoever comes into McLane. We should never lose here.”
This Saturday, the Bears enter the matchup against Kansas State as touchdown favorites, but will have to deal with quarterback Avery Johnson, who is a dual-threat weapon and rushed for 75 yards while throwing for 168 yards last weekend in the Wildcats' 34-20 win over UCF.
“We really need to be prepared,” Gifford said. “Going against SMU. We went against Auburn. We have the experience behind our backs. We’ve gone against quarterbacks, who I feel like run the ball better than [Johnson]. That will aid us going into this game. We know what to expect.”
As for the rest of Kansas State’s squad, Cameron has played several Chris Klieman-coached teams and knows they play a physical brand of football, so the Bears will need to bring their A-game to avoid getting knocked around.
“They’ve always been a physical team,” Cameron said. “That’s their main goal: to try to out-physical you, wear you down and really make you mess up, if anything. The main thing is to bring it right back to them. Stay on top of our details and execute at a high level.”
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+.
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