Baylor is moving into Kansas week with a message that came through clearly from two veteran voices on the roster: the Bears are focused on cleaning things up, sticking together, and putting the TCU loss behind them.
Defensive end Kyler Jordan and wide receiver Jayden McGowan spoke for the players during media availability this week, and both sounded upbeat about where the team stands heading into Saturday. Their comments centered on the same theme from different angles - belief in the group, trust in the offensive line, and a need to sharpen up after a rough performance.
Jordan made it clear he thinks the work is already happening behind the scenes.
"Yeah, no, I mean, they're definitely, they're working hard. I think they took the coaching yesterday, building on it today.
Fixing the things that needed to be fixed, and excited to see what they'll do on Saturday. I believe in those guys wholeheartedly.
I just needed them to believe in themselves."
He also pushed back on the idea that Baylor’s issues can be pinned on just one spot or one unit.
"Yeah, no, absolutely, it's tough, and I think the only reason that we're not doing that is because we were so connected before the season even started. I think we got a really close-knit group.
We love each other and care for each other, and it's definitely not one side. That side, I mean, we could have done stuff better on defense.
We could have done stuff better on special teams, so I think it takes all of us, and I think just having the connected team that we do, I think, makes it a lot easier."
McGowan’s comments carried the same no-blame approach, but with a little more urgency about what comes next. He pointed to the bye week as a possible factor in the Bears’ dip after a four-game winning streak.
"I mean, I don't know. We really don't know what happened.
I mean, we just gotta do better. We think maybe we could have got a little complacent over the bye week, and maybe the last week of practice wasn't as good as the week going into Arizona State.
So we're gonna make sure that we can replicate these practices and have great days back to back to back, and that we're gonna fix this stuff. So it won't happen again."
That loss to TCU stood in sharp contrast to what Baylor had just done before the break. The Bears had won four straight, and the offense was coming off what was described as the best performance by the offensive line and the most complete game from every position group this season.
Against Arizona State, Baylor moved the ball freely and scored on multiple long plays. Against TCU, the Bears never made it inside the 15-yard line.
McGowan also stressed that the offensive line still has the team’s backing.
"We have so much confidence in our O-line, and they worked hard today at practice. I mean, they all feel that, well, everyone feels they let each other down.
So every position group is just doing its best to get its stuff right so they can help the unit and they can help the team at the end of the day. So we trust them, and we know they're gonna do what they have to do."
His final message was simple: Baylor is narrowing its focus to one opponent and one correction at a time.
"We're taking it one game at a time, I mean, we're just focused on Kansas, and we're focusing on fixing our performance from last week. And going to the team, upholding our standard, like being the team that we know we can be. And we weren't that team on Saturday, so we're gonna be that team from now on."
For the Bears, the tone this week was less about explaining what went wrong and more about proving it won’t linger.
In Other News...
Baylor Has A Special Teams Weapon Getting National Attention
A Baylor special teams standout is drawing national notice in a place teams usually hope never to think about much: the punters role. Senior Palmer Williams has been named to The Sporting News Midseason All-America Second Team, another sign that his leg has become one of the more reliable weapons in the country and a steady asset for the Bears as they move through the season.
Williams is currently leading the nation with a 51.4-yard punting average and is on pace to top the Big 12 for the third straight season, which helps explain why he has already picked up multiple preseason All-America honors and landed among the finalists for the Ray Guy Award. For Baylor, having that kind of field-position edge matters in tight games, and Williams keeps giving the Bears something every opponent has to account for. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Heads To Baylor With One Problem Fans Can't Ignore
Kansas is heading into its Big 12 matchup at Baylor still trying to clean up the issues that showed up in its loss to Kansas State, where Lance Leipold pointed to a lack of physicality and too many missed tackles. The Jayhawks were gashed for 359 rushing yards and never found much rhythm offensively, which makes this trip even more important as they try to steady things against another conference opponent.
Baylor arrives with some questions of its own after a loss to TCU, and the Bears have had their own offensive line concerns to sort through. For both teams, this is more than just another league game on the calendar. It is a chance to show whether the problems from last week were a one-game setback or something deeper that still needs fixing. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Pitre Update Gives Baylor Fans A Reason To Exhale
Baylors NFL contingent had a mixed Week Six, with several former Bears dealing with the usual wear and tear of a long season while still finding ways to make an impact. The cleanest update came on Jalen Pitre, who came away with a non-severe AC joint and shoulder injury and is expected back soon, which should ease any concern for Baylor fans tracking the health of one of the programs most reliable pros.
There was less encouraging news elsewhere, though, as Tyquan Thornton remains sidelined after ankle surgery. Even so, Baylor alums continued to show up around the league, with Josh Cameron, Terrel Bernard, James Lynch, Ross Mastick and Jon Weeks all turning in notable contributions or steady work in their respective games, a reminder that the Bears NFL pipeline still has plenty of life in it. [Read more 🡒]