Baylor’s blowout of Prairie View A&M still left Dave Aranda with plenty to chew on, and the biggest talking points came on offense. The Bears got the win, but Aranda spent part of his postgame remarks highlighting both the promise and the rough edges he saw from a unit that is still sorting itself out.
One of the brightest spots was Nate Bennett, who made his first collegiate start and handled the moment well. Aranda was effusive about how Bennett prepared and how that work showed up on the field.
Coach Aranda: "Yeah, I thought his preparation was right on. I thought, real confident dude.
And his attention to detail and his routine throughout the week, I thought, couldn't be any better. And Spav was singing his praises all throughout the week in terms of, he's seeing this.
He's making these checks. He had a great check today for a touchdown.
And I thought that his preparation put him in a position to play fast and play free, which I thought he did.
"I didn't see a lot of thinking out there or a lot of double-guessing or any of those things. I think there's a couple plays we'd like to take back.
But I think for just the moment and how long, from where he's been and what he's had to overcome and the hurdles that he's had to go through, it's really cool to see him have this moment. He was really happy.
I thought his joy transferred over to a lot of guys.
Bennett’s line backed up that confidence. He threw for over 300 yards, had two passing touchdowns, and added another score on a 19-yard run.
There were still a couple of plays Aranda would want back, and the source material points to the two interceptions Bennett threw, including one that ended a drive with about ten minutes left in the second quarter. But the overall picture was of a quarterback who looked comfortable enough to run the offense without getting swallowed up by the moment.
Aranda also pointed to Jayden McGowan as a player Baylor wants to feature more. With JP’s return still up in the air, McGowan’s role could keep growing, and Aranda made it clear he sees a dynamic weapon.
Coach Aranda: "Yeah, it was a huge deal for us. Yeah, I mean, we were hoping.
I'm not sure when we're going to get JP back. And so we're hoping as soon as possible.
But Jayden McGowan is someone that's coming back from surgery himself. And he's been at a couple schools.
You look at film from a couple schools ago, way dynamic, unbelievably dynamic film. His highlight film when he was at Vanderbilt is amazing to look at.
"And we're at a spot where we were looking for someone, and he was available. And he has loved everything about Baylor and has really kind of taken up.
He's smiling more than I thought he would. I thought when he first came in here it was going to be kind of a tough nut to crack.
And he's really taken the community and the school. And it's cool to see him have success.
When he first got here, his knee was a little gimpy. But he's healthy now, and he's fast, fast.
And so we got to get him the ball a little bit more."
That fits with the bigger offensive picture Baylor is working toward. The Bears have a group of receivers that gives the staff options, and Aranda’s comments suggest he wants to keep expanding that part of the attack rather than shrink it.
The other area Aranda zeroed in on was the offensive line, where penalties became a real irritant. He said one player had “a bunch of penalties,” and he made it clear the unit is still not where it needs to be.
Coach Aranda: "We had one particular guy had a bunch of penalties. And we have got to fix that.
That's very aggravating for him, too. And so right now, O-line-wise, we're at a spot to where, man, I think you can see the promise of it.
You could see if everything's working, what it could be. And we got to get there soon.
We're not there yet. We took some steps forward to that today.
But like I say, it's two steps forward, one step back.
"It's penalty here.It's a false start. We have to clean that up.
And so I think that, to me, that's the part that's missing right now with us, is to get that totally fine-tuned, because we're going to need it to be. We're going to have to run the ball when they know we're going to run it, and we know we're going to run it, and everyone knows we're going to run it, but we're still going to run it.
And we got the guys to do that. We're not in a position to do that right now, though."
The penalties were heavily tied to Asher Hale, with all four of Baylor’s false-start penalties attributed to him. The frustration is obvious, but the source also frames it as a problem the staff can work through.
Hale’s assignment is simple in theory and maddening in practice: stay still until the snap. Baylor will need that cleaned up quickly, because Aranda’s message was clear that the run game can’t fully function until the line gets sharper.
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