Baylor’s latest trip through the grinder ended the same way too many painful losses do: with a play that slammed the door shut at the last second. Kansas blocked a field goal to erase a 14-game Baylor winning streak in the series, and the result left plenty hanging over the program, including the possibility that this could be Aranda’s last game with the Bears.
The Bears’ offense never found its footing. DJ Lagway was throwing short, the receivers had passes bounce off their hands, and the run game stayed stuck in neutral. It looked a lot like the same offensive mess Baylor dealt with in the TCU loss.
Jayden McGowan was the one real bright spot. The fifth-year wide receiver helped account for both Baylor touchdowns, sparked the game with two kick returns for 87 yards, and delivered the highlight catch of the night. His work also helped Lagway get his first touchdown in three weeks.
Outside of that, there just wasn’t much to hang your hat on. Baylor kept putting together short possessions, losing yardage on key plays and piling up a season-high total in penalty yards. Senior guard Kaden Sieracki was especially costly, picking up three false starts that repeatedly killed momentum on the few drives that showed promise.
The numbers underline how far the Baylor offense fell short. Kansas had been giving up more than 33 points per game in its three other Big 12 matchups, but Baylor managed only 17 in the loss.
The other side of the ball wasn’t sharp enough to rescue the night, either. Baylor’s defense gave up a season-high 25 points to the Jayhawks, and the back end continued to allow explosive plays, an issue that has trailed the unit all season. Kansas also had several first-half chances that should have turned into points, but those plays hit the turf instead.
The defensive line was the one group that kept showing up. Baylor’s front stayed disruptive, finishing with five sacks and coming through on several key stops even as Kansas kept moving the offense around with motion. Still, with the Jayhawks running 13 drives, that pressure couldn’t hold forever.
And that’s the part that makes this loss sting even more. Baylor has somehow kept slipping out of games and seasons under Aranda, but this one feels different. The clock management on the second-to-last drive was rough, the discipline was at its worst all season, and the offense once again looked unready when it mattered most.
Aranda’s seven-season run may have finally reached its end.
In Other News...
TCU Just Exposed The Baylor Problem That Still Hasn't Changed
Baylor has gotten plenty of encouraging play from its offense this season, with quarterback DJ Lagway and wide receiver Gavin Freeman putting together numbers that could end up among the best in program history. Even so, the Bears are still living with the same frustration that has followed them through stretches of this year: the production has often looked better on paper than it has in the standings, and a home loss to TCU brought that disconnect right back into focus.
The defense has taken steps forward from last season, giving Baylor more stability on that side of the ball, but the offense still has not consistently carried its weight when it matters most. The running game has been a particular issue, and with three ranked opponents still ahead, the Bears are running out of time to turn individual success into something more durable. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Gets A Timely Boost Before A Pivotal Kansas Test
Baylor heads into its meeting with Kansas carrying the same five players on the unavailable list that it had for the TCU game, including two season-ending injuries, so the injury report is still doing some heavy lifting for a team trying to stabilize its depth. Even so, there was a small but meaningful sign of progress: juniors Nate Kibble and Devon Jordan were not listed as questionable after both were limited last time out, which gives the Bears a little more room to maneuver as they prepare for a pivotal Big 12 test.
Head coach Dave Aranda also said quarterback DJ Lagway is still working his way back from a high-ankle sprain, but is moving closer to full strength. Baylor does not need a long injury update to know what is at stake against Kansas, and any added availability could matter as the Bears try to piece together the right lineup for a game that carries real weight in the conference race. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Just Turned A Brutal Start Into A Statement Win
Baylor volleyball spent a long night digging out of a two-set hole, but the Bears kept finding answers at the Ferrell Center and turned it into a 3-2 comeback over Houston. Ksenia Rakhmanchik led the way with 23 kills, while Bailey Warren added 12 kills off the bench to give Baylor the kind of spark that can change a match, especially once the momentum finally began to swing.
The bigger milestone came with the result itself, since the victory was Ryan McGuyres 250th at Baylor and moved him past everyone else in program history for career wins. For a team that looked in trouble early, it became the sort of night that says as much about resilience as it does about the resume-building win attached to it. [Read more 🡒]