GameDay Thread: Baylor (0-0) welcomes Kansas (0-1) to McLane Stadium

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Baylor vs. Kansas Primer

Written by Colt Barber

After what has seemed like a never ending shuffle of Baylor’s non-conference games, the Bears are finally set to open the 2020 football season with a Big 12 game against the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT inside McLane Stadium.

Baylor was set to open the season last Saturday against Houston, but a large number of Baylor players were unable to participate because of contact tracing protocols. 

“They were disappointed,” Dave Aranda said of the Baylor football team. “It was a hard Friday. Prior to really finalizing the decision that we can’t play, I had an opportunity to talk to the team leaders and kind of gave them the situation and wanted to get their input on it. It was a lot of emotion in that call. It left me with a great appreciation of our guys and just the character that they show continually.”

Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

It was the second time in as many weeks the Bears saw their game canceled. Prior to a game on Sept. 12 against Louisiana Tech, an outbreak of COVID-19 among nearly 40 Bulldogs forced the game to be postponed and ultimately canceled. 

The contest against Kansas is the first for Aranda since becoming the head coach at Baylor in January. The former LSU and Wisconsin defensive coodinator replaced Matt Rhule to become the ninth head coach for the Bears dating back 30 years to 1990. 

Baylor did not participate in spring drills as originally planned when the University shifted to online classes only for students after the onset of the pandemic in March. With the two cancellations, Baylor is the only Big 12 program to not have not played a football game this season. 

It’s an opporunity to blaze their own path according to Aranda, and not an opportunity to be nervous or scared about what’s to come in the first game of the season. 

“Yeah, we don’t blink,” Aranda said. “I think leadership of the team, character of the team, I think all of that is right there for anyone to feel that.”

The game against Kansas looks to be on track as of early Friday afternoon. Kansas head coach Les Miles mentioned his team had no recent positive COVID-19 cases while Baylor made the announcements of their uniform combination on Friday at noon for the first time this season. 

As of a release from Baylor’s athletic communications on Sept. 21, dating back to the start weekly testing of athletes and staff members prior to the return to campus, Baylor’s athletic department has totaled 91 positive tests across multiple sports. Of those, only four were active including two asymptomatic cases and two symptomatic. A total of 18 athletes and staff members were being monitored via contact tracing. 

Those case numbers were a noticable dropoff from a week ago when there were six active cases with 23 cases being monitored.

Baylor should get key personnel returns after two cancellations

Written by Craig Smoak

Dave Aranda has now completed four game week press conferences without actually coaching his first game, but regardless of whether the fourth time is a charm, some good health news appears to be on the horizon for the Bears. 

Thanks to COVID-19 and protocols the virus has introduced, Baylor football could have technically played last Saturday against Houston, but doing so would have meant entering the game with a certain position group shallow short of available bodies. 

“Looking at the situation moving forward, you just didn’t see the ability where the numbers were there to try to play,” Aranda said. “If you were talking maybe the first quarter, possibly. But, in terms of the whole entire four-quarter game and all of it, you just didn’t see it.”

On Monday, seeing was a little easier, and Aranda took a positive approach when discussing the team’s health status ahead of their currently scheduled Big 12 season opener against Kansas.  

“I feel optimistic,” Aranda said. “I think that’s a good word. We’ve got some guys coming back at that position. We’ve got guys coming back at some other positions, so I think our depth is getting bolstered there.” 

On the topic of players returning, Aranda addressed the specific group whose absence would have left the Bears crawling to the finish line last week.

“At the position that was affected, we’re getting about five guys back throughout the week. So we feel good about that.” 

Baylor Football

Five guys returning in a single group is huge news when depth concerns were the catalyst to last weekend's cancellation. While the delay to play remains an annoyance, a hidden blessing could be the extra time allowing for more players to make their debuts on time. 

Even though COVID has taken the headlines, injury reports remain a real thing as well and, while vague on any specifics, Aranda said he expects about six players in various other positions to return this week from concussion protocol, injuries, or other issues. 

Eleven total players potentially returning to availability, including five at one position group, bodes well for the overall health of the roster, and most importantly the student-athletes and staff.

“We’re feeling pretty strong about our team being fortified and being strengthened,” Aranda said. 

Whether the Bears are strengthened enough to clear the abundance of testing, tracing and protocols, needed to take on the Jayhawks this Saturday is the next question. 

In their latest Monday update, Baylor reported four active cases, three of those new since last week, with 18 cases being monitored through contact tracing across the entire Athletic Department. How many of those are related to football remains unknown as the University doesn’t provide specific totals by sport. 

During his interview with SicEm365’s David Smoak, Aranda relayed players will be tested again on Wednesday and Friday.

“Those things, like everybody else, we’re at the mercy of those [tests],” he said. “Now, I know, I feel good about what I'm anticipating with those results. But you know, I can't necessarily predict it.” 

And who would dare predict anything in these current times? While anxiety for actual football reaches new heights, Aranda is remaining optimistic as Baylor’s roster returns to form, because when the time finally arrives he and his team will be ready to play. 

“I feel particularly for us, we’re trailblazing a little bit in not playing a game,” Aranda said. “Myself included, we’re just really looking forward to taking the field and giving it our best effort.”

Baylor vs. Kansas Game Preview & Prediction

Written by Sam Bradshaw (S11)

This is hard given the unknown of who will and won’t be available to play.  Baylor should be near full strength and I will predict based on this.   Baylor’s offense has a big day and their defense feasts on KU’s execution issues.  KU gets a couple of their skill guys loose for a few big plays but this one likely isn’t close against a rebuilding roster.

Read the full article here

Baylor 37, Kansas 23