Baylor heads to Florida on Friday night looking to halt a skid, while UCF comes in with a little momentum after a statement win over BYU.
The Bears started the year with a loss to Auburn, then rattled off four straight wins. Since then, though, Baylor has stumbled twice in a row. One of those setbacks came last week, when the Bears fell 25-24 at Kansas after opening October with a road blowout of Arizona State.
UCF has had its own uneven stretch, but the Knights snapped a two-game losing streak in dramatic fashion. Both of those losses came against top-20 opponents, and last week UCF answered with a 39-31 upset of then No. 2 BYU in double overtime.
That win put the spotlight on Keyone Jenkins, who is wrapping up his collegiate career with the Knights after three seasons as the starter at Florida International. The senior has put together a steady season so far, completing 67.9% of his passes, going 108 of 159 for 1,0999 yards and 11 touchdowns against three interceptions. He has also been involved on the ground 42 times for 76 yards and four scores.
Against BYU, Jenkins delivered his best performance yet. He threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns, then added 35 rushing yards and a score on 11 carries in the double-overtime win.
UCF has also been tough to beat at home. The Knights are 4-0 in Florida, while Baylor is 1-1 away from home. With the level of competition UCF has just faced, this looks like a much friendlier spot.
I have to roll with UCF at home against an easier opponent when compared to its recent competition.
In Other News...
Baylor Already Has An Early WBB Concern Fans Will Notice
Baylors womens basketball team got its first taste of outside competition in a 85-64 exhibition loss to Texas at the Moody Center, and the result came with an early wrinkle fans will notice. Trinity Turner led the Bears with 20 points, while Reese Ross added 13 points and five rebounds, but Baylor never found enough consistency to keep pace with a Longhorns group that controlled the night.
Zya Vann set the tone for Texas with 18 points and a perfect shooting night from beyond the arc, hitting all six of her 3-point tries. For Baylor, the bigger concern was less about one score in October than the way the game unfolded, since exhibition results do not count but still reveal what needs work before the real season begins. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Recruiting Fallout May Be Just Getting Started
Bryson Browns recruiting pivot is the latest reminder of how quickly Baylors future picture can change after a coaching shakeup. The three-star linebacker had already been part of the Bears 2027 class, and his decision to flip to Oklahoma State adds an early hit to a group that still includes 12 commitments and sits 72nd in the On3 rankings.
Browns change of heart is especially notable because he initially said Dave Arandas firing would not alter his commitment. Instead, the departure of the Baylor head coach has already started to ripple through the recruiting board, and the Bears may not be done feeling the effects as other prospects reassess where they fit in a program now searching for its next direction. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Offense Faces A Real Test Of Jake Spavital Against UCF
Baylors offense is heading into this matchup with a few obvious pressure points, and the biggest one starts on the ground. The Bears have had trouble getting the run game going, which has put more on quarterback DJ Lagway and left offensive coordinator Jake Spavital looking for answers as the unit tries to find a better balance. With Gavin Freeman, Louis Brown IV and Jadon Porter in the mix, there are pieces to work with, but the offense has not yet found a rhythm it can trust week to week.
UCF presents another tough test for that part of the Baylor attack, especially if the Bears cannot create more push in the run game. The expectation is that the passing production can at least take a step forward, but the larger question is whether Spavital can adjust enough to keep the offense from becoming too one-dimensional. For Baylor, this feels like a game where progress may be measured less by the scoreboard and more by whether the Bears show they have a clearer plan moving forward. [Read more 🡒]