Baylor Squanders Chance to Win Back Fans as Familiar Frustrations Return Against TCU

WACO – Heading into the 122nd edition of “The Revivalry,” it felt like a must-win for both programs, but interestingly enough, TCU’s Sonny Dykes was the one generating more buzz about potentially being fired if things went south on Saturday in McLane Stadium.

The Horned Frogs entered the fall with big expectations but opened the year 2-3, with three one-score losses to North Carolina, UCF and No. 10 BYU. The offense had looked like a mess under first-year coordinator Gordon Sammis, as TCU averaged 14.3 points per game in those three defeats. Harvard transfer quarterback Jaden Craig hadn’t lived up to the hype, and Funky Town was getting restless.

Baylor’s Dave Aranda, by contrast, was riding a bit under the radar, despite having one of the country's hottest seats heading into the fall. After all, the Bears were less than a foot away from entering Saturday undefeated and coming off arguably their best performance in five years: a dominant 55-19 road win over Arizona State, where everything came together on a special night in Tempe.

Saturday’s matchup felt like a potential perfect storm.

The Bears had all the momentum, and the Horned Frogs’ season was on the brink. Baylor’s fanbase did its job, packing out McLane Stadium for a “Blackout on the Brazos.” It was a golden opportunity for the Bears to beat their arch-nemesis convincingly and hopefully ride those good vibes into the next three Saturdays, with winnable contests ahead against Kansas, UCF and Iowa State.

Alas, things never go as planned, and from the jump, TCU seemed to have more energy on its sideline, a common theme in this rivalry across the last decade. Baylor’s fanbase was ready to explode with excitement, but they had little to cheer for until senior safety Micah Gifford picked off a pass on a failed trick play late in the second quarter.

When it finally looked like the Bears were waking up from their sleepy spell, freshman running back Ryelan Morris fumbled a few plays later, instantly squashing any perceived momentum as the Horned Frogs took an ugly 7-6 lead into the halftime locker room.

Baylor’s defense did enough in the second half to win the game, but the offense ultimately laid a giant goose egg, scoring zero points across six second-half possessions, with three punts, two turnovers on downs and an interception from quarterback DJ Lagway.

Despite facing arguably TCU’s worst team this decade, the Bears walked off the McLane Stadium turf with a 17-6 defeat, squandering much of the goodwill they had built through their first five games.

A solemn Aranda approached the podium post-game, saying, “It’s like a hollow feeling. You feel gutted when you can’t reward them with a win. For the fans to show up and for them to stay, and for us to not come through with it, is a lonely, lonely feeling. The locker room was like that, so we’re going to have to work to get them back up, which we will.”

In a vacuum, getting upset by your biggest rival isn’t the end of the world. The problem, however, is how it happened. Aranda’s team lacked juice, looked underprepared and wasn't ready for the moment, a pattern that has become the norm since he took over in 2020.

Saturday’s defeat drops Aranda’s record against TCU to 1-6 and 7-15 against Power Four opponents at home since 2022. In big home games — Kansas State and TCU in 2022, Texas in 2023, TCU in 2024, Auburn and Arizona State in 2025 and TCU in 2026 — Aranda is 1-6. In those contests, six at night, the Bears have been outscored 153-122. Baylor is also 0-7 at home against ranked teams over the last five seasons.

No matter how you slice it, this program has failed to meet expectations in McLane Stadium time and time again. It’ll be nearly impossible to get the fanbase back in Aranda’s corner after Saturday’s performance, and the boo-birds came out loud and often in the second half of the loss to TCU.

“We have to win, so I understand when there’s not success,” Aranda said of the fans expressing frustration. “But I believe in this team. I believe in the guys in this locker room. They care about winning. They care about Baylor. It means a lot to them. If there’s a time when you’re knocked down for a little bit, I know we’re going to get right back up.”

While a good portion of the blame for this loss falls on Aranda, Baylor’s offense should also shoulder some of it in arguably the worst performance under third-year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital. It was Baylor’s first touchdown-less game since facing Texas in 2023.

Baylor's offense was terrible in almost every aspect on Saturday. TCU dominated the line of scrimmage, and the Bears' rushing game averaged a paltry 1.6 yards per carry, totaling 54 yards on 34 attempts. Baylor’s offense was constantly playing behind the sticks and went 6-of-22 on third down. With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, the Bears’ offensive line picked up four penalties on the final possession. Baylor finished with seven penalties for 65 yards.

“The line of scrimmage, on offense, we struggled,” Aranda said. “That whole second half, they were in a 4-1 box. They were basically playing prevent defense. When you throw against that, you have to be precise because the windows are so small, and the windows and lanes are really for running the ball, and we couldn’t do it against a light box. That was the whole game — that was it. I thought we were further along than what we are. That’s a major deal, and we have to get that corrected and fixed. We were behind the eight-ball the entire night because of it.”

It wasn’t just a struggling run game that led to only six points on Saturday; Lagway couldn’t build on his incredible performance against Arizona State, where he totaled a career-high five touchdowns and won Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. Against the Horned Frogs, Lagway was incredibly inefficient, throwing for 256 yards and an interception on 22 of 53 passes for his lowest completion percentage (42%) of his career.

“I think a lot of the issues we had with DJ were a lack of a run game and a lack of protection at times,” Aranda said. “It was a tough night for him, in terms of things being clean and things being where they’re supposed to be, prior to any pass or completion.”

When asked about what he said to Lagway post-game, Aranda said, “I told him that I believed in him. I said we’re going to work to get better. All of it is frustrating, disappointing, embarrassing. Frustrating is probably the strongest thing you feel. Embarrassing is right as a close second. I believe in him. I see him. I believe in this team. I see this team and know what this team is capable of. I have this team’s back. I have his back. There’s work to do, but I believe in the guys who are going to do the work.”

Amid all the offensive frustrations, Baylor’s defense did everything it could to keep the game close, despite not having its sharpest outing. The Bears allowed a handful of explosive plays through the air against a team that entered Saturday with an anemic passing attack. Overall, though, Baylor’s defense gave the offense a chance. It clamped down in the red zone, posting four sacks and 10 tackles for loss, and held TCU to its lowest rushing total in “Revivalry” history, with 33 yards on 30 attempts.

“Defensively, I thought guys played with a lot of grit and second effort,” Aranda said. “There were a lot of big plays where we’d get pressure on the quarterback. I’m really proud. They got put in some tough spots, but we battled through. On the defensive side, the line of scrimmage was won by us. On offense, it clearly was not.”

Looking ahead, the offensive line’s struggles raise serious questions about how Baylor will handle the rest of its schedule. If the Bears can’t run against a light box, how much can they reasonably ask of Lagway? And how does an offense that managed six points against TCU expect to keep pace with three likely top-15 teams in BYU, Texas Tech and Houston?

The script has flipped from the last two seasons, when Baylor’s offense carried a defense that struggled to hold up its end of the bargain. This fall, the Bears have one of the conference’s better defenses and an offense that keeps putting it in bad spots.

Aranda hasn’t put together a complete team since 2021. Each season since has featured a glaring weakness, and Saturday exposed this team’s major flaws in front of a crowd eager for a reason to believe.

Athletic director Doug McNamee needs something to sell moving forward. Aranda had a packed stadium, a struggling rival and a chance to show that this season would be different. Instead, Baylor fans left with the same frustrations and, unfortunately, one fewer reason to come back.