Baylor Football Flashes a New Identity, But Falls Inches Short Against Auburn

ATLANTA – When Baylor’s defense took the field on Saturday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Bears immediately made their presence known as safety Colby McCalister (5Sr.) made an open-field tackle to prevent an Auburn first down, something that’s been few and far between in recent years. Defensive lineman Kyler Jordan (5Sr.) followed Turner’s spectacular tackle with a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage to force a fourth down.

When the Bears got the ball back on offense, everything looked right in the world, as former five-star quarterback DJ Lagway (Jr.) walked onto the turf to make his long-awaited debut in the Green and Gold. Lagway, the Baylor legacy, found his rhythm early, connecting with reliable wide receivers Gavin Freeman (5Sr.) and Louis Brown IV (5Sr.) several times to move the Bears past midfield.

A few plays later, Lagway tried to pick up a third-and-short deep into Auburn’s territory with his legs. With nothing open in front of him, Lagway bounced it outside to get to the edge, and when he attempted to hurdle a Tiger defender, the ball was punched from Lagway’s hands onto the turf. The Tigers took back the momentum and left Lagway with a badly banged-up ankle that limited him for the rest of the contest.

For those first five minutes, it felt like Baylor was on the verge of a breakout performance, ready to shed the baggage of last season and leave all the bad juju behind for good. But football has a way of throwing unexpected setbacks at you, and suddenly, the Bears were forced to adjust.

The problem, however, is that while the Baylor defense kept playing its absolute tail off to keep the Bears in the game, forcing three turnovers and totaling 11 tackles for loss, the offense struggled to execute throughout the rest of the contest, with a hobbled Lagway under center.

Whether it was a bad snap that killed a drive, a false start deep within Baylor’s territory, or a handful of crucial dropped passes, including Jadon Porter (Jr.) not coming down with a slant on fourth and short, there were a myriad of setbacks that kept the Bears from winning the game, including Lagway’s unnecessary fumble and a first-quarter interception.

“Mistakes —that's why we lost,” head coach Dave Aranda said post-game. “That's what I told the team: early in the game, there were too many opportunities that we had to close or to finish drives, to put points on the board, and we didn't do it. I take the credit for that. I should have done a better job of coaching that. One of the things we talk about: more games are lost than won, especially early in the season. I could have communicated that better because I think we contributed to that tonight.”

Despite all the points left on the board on Saturday in Atlanta, the Bears still had one final chance, and Lagway kept Baylor alive, with nine seconds remaining, finding Freeman for a five-yard touchdown grab; the Oklahoma State transfer was Lagway’s most trusted target in the contest, breaking his career-high in receiving yards (154) and catches (12).

With the Bears trailing 17-16, Aranda elected to keep his offense on the field and go for the win, citing analytics and his team’s overall fatigue. Following a timeout, third-year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital dialed up the perfect play. Lagway rolled to his right and found tight end Matthew Klopfenstein (Sr.), but the throw was slightly behind him, allowing trailing Auburn linebacker Eric Winters (So.) to bring down the 6-foot-4, 248-pound Klopfenstein mere inches short of the goal line.

“I thought he was in,” Aranda said. “When you hear the call, you know what the play is, and so you're thinking, you're watching for it, and you see it, and I'm thinking it's points, and for it not to be just sucks. But there was no hesitation with that. We referenced the book, and the book said to go for it, but it wasn't so much that. It was more that we had so many guys who were just doing everything they could to try to push through and close this game out. I just didn't feel that playing longer would benefit us.”

Where Lagway’s injury did play a significant role, however, was in the limitations of the playbook, as Aranda admitted that Lagway’s inability to run significantly cut down the calls available, particularly on third and fourth downs, but noted that the injury didn’t seem serious after the game.

“It's an ankle sprain, as far as I know right now,” Aranda said. “I thought that DJ being able to play through pain and fighting through and pushing off and doing all those things, I thought was tremendous and inspiring.”

With Lagway (333 YDS; 27-of-54 C/ATT) fighting through a banged-up ankle in the second half, the Bears leaned on running back Dawson Pendergrass (Sr.), who made his much-anticipated return from injury on Saturday. He was a workhorse in the defeat, rushing for 88 yards on 25 physical carries and continually making something out of nothing.

“To have Dawson Pendergrass back is such a gift for us,” Aranda said. “He has a knack for finding a crease, a seam and falling forward. He always falls forward, and so they really found a rhythm in that second half.”

In addition to Pendergrass, the defense was a major bright spot on Saturday and, at times, resembled the 2021 Sugar Bowl, when the Bears dominated No. 8 Ole Miss with 14 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.

Baylor’s defense wasn’t terribly far off from that number in first-year defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman’s debut, as the Bears totaled 11 tackles for loss and five sacks, while adding three interceptions against Auburn head coach Alex Golesh’s high-flying offense.

“They were who we thought they were,” Aranda said of the defense post-game. “In spring and fall, that was them, and so a lot of pressure up front, a lot of tackles for loss and sacks, multiple sacks today. Some of the pressure forced throws that were eventually picked off. It all starts up front for us. It was good to see the active linebackers and safeties. I thought the tackling was there, but there were a few missed tackles on their sideline that I wish we had taken back; aside from that, I thought it was clean for the first game.”

Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown (5Sr.) was viewed as a dark-horse Heisman Trophy contender ahead of the season, after totaling 4,000-plus yards of offense last season at USF, and the Bears made him uncomfortable all afternoon, as he finished with 27 yards on the ground on 21 carries and 259 yards through the air.

The local product, Devonte Tezino (5Sr.), had his best game in a Baylor uniform, with two sacks and a pass break-up that led to an interception from Oklahoma transfer Devon Jordan (Jr.). Cornerback Reggie Bush II (5Sr.) and safety Micah Gifford (Sr.) both hauled in picks as well.

Southern Miss transfer Garrick Ponder (5Sr.) had a big debut for the Bears as well, with four tackles and two tackles for loss. Linebackers Travion Barnes (5Sr.) and Kyland Reed (Jr.) both lived up to the hype as well with nine and seven tackles apiece, respectively.

Everywhere you looked, the Bears made plays, and Aranda reiterated that post-game, saying, “This team has the potential to be a really, really gritty team and a really tough team, and the grittiest and the toughest team since I've been here. They've got that potential to do that. I go in the locker room, and the leaders, our captains, are coaching guys up and are saying all the things that I'm about to say. They're already saying it before I do, so it can be a special group. We need to get a win.”

It’s hard not to believe Aranda, in this instance, considering the all-out effort and physical toughness that Baylor just put on display for 60 minutes. That’s a massive improvement from the last four years, and this team appears leaps and bounds better than last season, but that’s exactly what makes Saturday’s loss so incredibly hard to digest.

In Aranda’s seventh year at the helm of the program, progress has to be measured in wins. Baylor had every opportunity to beat Auburn, as it outplayed the Tigers for significant stretches and showed many of the qualities that have been missing from the program in recent years. The Bears just didn’t finish the job.

Most of Saturday’s mistakes came down to a lack of offensive execution, but for better or worse, the final result falls at the feet of the head coach. There was plenty about this performance to suggest Baylor might finally be headed in the right direction, but for a coach who could be running out of time, the Bears have to figure out how to walk away from Saturdays with far more than just moral victories.