Baylor closes non-conference play at home Saturday against Louisiana Tech. This week’s installment of “In The Web” breaks down the top storylines from the other side.
Aranda & Cumbie’s Ties Go Way Back
When Baylor head coach Dave Aranda was a graduate assistant at Texas Tech from 2000-2002, current Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie was Aranda’s scout-team quarterback, which sparked a lifelong friendship between them.
Aranda later became the linebackers coach at Houston, while Cumbie eventually earned Texas Tech’s starting quarterback job ahead of the 2004 season, throwing for 32 touchdowns and nearly 5,000 yards.
Their paths crossed again in 2021, when Cumbie was the interim head coach at Texas Tech and Baylor barely hung on to beat the Red Raiders, 27-24, sending the Bears to the Big 12 Championship.
“I’m really close with Sonny,” Aranda said. “I’m a big fan of his and am obviously rooting for him in all of the games except this one. … You wish college football had more guys like Sonny Cumbie.”
Louisiana Tech’s Defense Can Cause Problems
When flipping through scores last weekend, a real eyebrow-raiser was that Louisiana Tech trailed LSU, 10-7, at halftime. The Bulldogs forced four turnovers in the second quarter alone, including a 100-yard pick-six from cornerback Jordan McRae.
Eventually, the Tigers pulled away en route to a 45-14 victory, but Louisiana Tech gave them a real fight for two and a half quarters, and Aranda was incredibly complimentary of the Bulldog defense, which racked up five sacks and 11 tackles for loss against LSU, saying, “They’ve got a really good defensive line. They’ve got a really good linebacker core. They fly around and create takeaways.”
Louisiana Tech Has Questions at Quarterback
The Bulldogs may be missing their starting quarterback, senior Blake Baker, for Saturday’s matchup against Baylor, as he suffered a fracture in his throwing hand. Cumbie told David Smoak of 365 Sports that Baker will see a specialist on Tuesday and that his status is “to be determined.”
Across the first two weeks, Baker threw for 360 yards and four touchdowns on 21-of-35 passing. The Cypress, Texas, native started seven games for Louisiana Tech in 2025, completing 105-of-155 passes for 1,251 yards and five touchdowns.
Baker’s backup, senior Trey Kukuk, saw decent playing time in 2025, playing in 11 games with five starts. He went 4-1 as a starter and capped off the year with an Independence Bowl victory. Kukuk finished the season with three straight 100-yard rushing performances and completed 66-of-105 passes for 640 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bears (1-1) will close non-conference play against Louisiana Tech (1-1) at 3 p.m. on Sept. 19 at McLane Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
