Baylor’s 44-3 win over Prairie View A&M was lopsided enough that the red-zone story almost gets buried beneath the score. But the Bears still left behind a few useful clues about how this offense is functioning - and where it still has room to tighten up.
For starters, Baylor didn’t live in the red zone the way a 44-point outing might make you think. The Bears logged four red-zone trips in Week 2, with another drive late in the second quarter getting to the Prairie View A&M 20-yard line before stalling out just short of officially counting. That’s a pretty small number for a team that put up 44, but it also says plenty about how explosive Baylor was outside the 20.
Nate Bennett was a big part of that. Starting in place of the injured DJ Lagway, he hit two touchdowns from outside the red zone early, including his first two career scores: a 33-yard connection with Jayden McGowan and a 22-yard strike to Dre’lon Miller on back-to-back possessions.
McGowan showed up again later as one of Baylor’s most dangerous red-zone pieces. After the 33-yard touchdown, he added a 13-yard score late in the third quarter on a run-pass option with a bubble screen tagged to the field side. Bennett got the ball out to him in the flat, McGowan made one defender miss behind the line of scrimmage, and the rest was open grass.
For McGowan, this one meant more than just another touchdown. He’s on his fourth school since the start of 2023 and has missed most of the last two years with injuries, so the moment carried some real weight.
"It was such a blessing," McGowan said after the game. "It's been so long since I was able to play ball.
Ended up missing the whole of last season, so I'm just so thankful for the opportunity to play again and for coach Aranda and coach [Jake Spavital] giving me the shot to play. Luckily, I was able to make the most of my opportunities."
The more concerning thread for Baylor comes from the backfield. Dawson Pendergrass, who was a goal-line weapon in his last healthy season, hasn’t looked like that version of himself yet in 2026. His Week 2 line - 17 touches for 88 yards from scrimmage - looks solid enough on paper, but the red-zone usage tells a different story.
Through two games, Pendergrass has only six touches inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Half of those have gone for no gain or negative yardage, and he still hasn’t scored a touchdown.
That’s a notable shift for a back who found the end zone 14 times over his last two healthy seasons. Some of that traces back to the offensive line, but his own feel and vision may also still be catching up after he missed all of 2025.
Baylor should expect him to come around. The bigger question is how quickly the Bears are willing to feed him near the goal line while he does.
Quarterback health could also shape what this offense looks like in Week 3. Baylor still hasn’t settled whether Bennett or Lagway will start against Louisiana Tech, and that decision will matter inside the 20. Lagway’s mobility changes what defenses have to honor, but two weeks after a high-ankle sprain, he likely wouldn’t be at full speed if he returns.
If Bennett gets the nod again, Baylor may have more room to call designed quarterback runs, especially with Lagway presumably limited. Bennett won’t match a fully healthy Lagway’s top-end burst, but he showed enough juice against Prairie View A&M to matter, including a 17-yard rushing touchdown.
No matter who starts next Saturday, Baylor has a clear adjustment to make: get Pendergrass more involved in the red zone. If this offense wants to hit its ceiling later in the season, he has to be part of that finish, and more September touches could help set that up.
In Other News...
Dave Aranda Sees One Baylor Problem That Win Didn't Fix
A 44-3 win over Prairie View A&M gave Baylor a comfortable result, but it did not completely quiet Dave Arandas concerns. Afterward, the Bears coach pointed to penalties and turnovers as issues that still need cleaning up, a reminder that the bigger tests will punish the kinds of mistakes Baylor could absorb in a lopsided nonconference game.
Aranda also had a mixed set of roster updates as the Bears turn their attention to the next one. Quarterback DJ Lagway and center Koltin Sierck are expected back for the upcoming game, while defensive tackle Devonte Tezino is out for the season with a severe leg injury. In the middle of it all, Aranda singled out transfer defensive tackle Hosea Wheeler for the leadership and toughness he has brought to the group. [Read more 🡒]
Dave Aranda Just Put Baylors Biggest Early Problem On Notice
Early in the season, Dave Aranda is already leaning on one of the most basic truths in football: Baylor cannot keep beating itself. After a start defined in part by frustrating offensive penalties and giveaways, the Bears coach used his latest media session to zero in on the kinds of mistakes that stall drives and shrink margins, especially when they come from the offensive line and from quarterback decisions that lead to interceptions.
Arandas message was less about panic than about urgency, and that is what makes it worth watching going forward. Baylor still has time to settle in, but the standard he laid out was clear - cleaner execution, better consistency and fewer self-inflicted errors have to show up soon if the offense is going to look like a unit moving in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]
Baylors Early Offensive Problems Are Getting Hard To Ignore
After two games, Baylor is sitting at 1-1, and the early tape has already pointed to a few areas that cant be brushed aside for long. Penalties have been part of the problem, the offensive line has had to work through injuries, and the passing game still looks like it is searching for a cleaner distribution. There have been individual bright spots on both sides of the ball, but the bigger picture is a team that needs more cohesion as the season settles in.
The next step is especially clear on offense, where better third-down production would ease some of the pressure on fourth-down decisions and give the unit more control of drives. Baylor has enough pieces to suggest improvement is coming, but the challenge now is turning scattered success into something more reliable. For a team with bigger goals ahead, these early issues are the kind that can linger if they are not cleaned up quickly. [Read more 🡒]