Baylor’s 23-13 win over Colorado gave the Bears a victory to build on, but the red-zone numbers told a more uneven story. The offense got inside the 20 five times Saturday, matching its highest total of the season, yet only three of those trips ended in touchdowns. For a team that had found some scoring punch from outside the red zone in recent weeks, that extra gear mostly vanished against the Buffaloes.
The biggest reason traces back to DJ Lagway. Back in the lineup after dealing with a severe ankle sprain, the quarterback looked rusty and limited, and that showed up in how Baylor attacked.
His mobility wasn’t close to full strength, and that shaped the way offensive coordinator Jake Spavital called the game. Lagway finished with just two carries - one on a sack and one on an unplanned scramble - which says plenty about how much the injury was still hanging over the offense.
That lack of movement mattered most near the goal line, where Baylor needed a quarterback who could create when the picture broke down. Lagway missed several open targets, but his most costly miss came on fourth-and-goal late in the game.
Jadon Porter ran a rub route to open space for Matthew Klopfenstein, and Lagway had a chance to hit the 6-foot-4 tight end. Instead, he threw it high and over his head.
The Bears did get one score from outside the 20, and it came on Porter’s 33-yard touchdown reception. Otherwise, the offense had to grind for its points inside the red zone.
Colorado actually helped Baylor get there a few times, including a second-quarter stretch after a turnover on downs. The Buffaloes then gave up 22 yards on penalties over the next three plays, Dawson Pendergrass added a 6-yard run, and Lagway finished the drive with a 3-yard pass to Gavin Freeman.
That touchdown put Baylor ahead for the first time, and the Bears never gave it back.
After the game, Dave Aranda pointed to the quarterback’s limited legs as part of the issue. “There was a great field goal by Rhett [Armstrong], it was at 54 yards, and we were trying to get closer to it,” Aranda said.
“I think if we're in a position where we weren't fighting back from an injury, he probably runs it there, DJ does. I think he threw it out of bounds where he could have scrambled or ran.
"You want the full opened-up thing. We have to work our way toward that.”
Aranda’s example came outside the red zone, but the point carried over. Baylor simply wasn’t getting the full version of Lagway, and that trimmed the offense’s options when the field got tight.
If the ankle continues to heal without any setback, another week of rehab could help him regain some of that burst. And for this Baylor offense, that missing mobility may be the difference between settling and finishing.
In Other News...
Baylors Close Win Revealed Who Carried The Offense And Who Didnt
Baylors first in-conference test turned into the kind of game that forces a hard look at where the offense really came from, and who was asked to do too much. DJ Lagway led the way for the Bears in the home matchup, piling up 221 passing yards and 116 rushing yards while helping push the offense to 23 points. He also hit Jadon Porter on a 33-yard touchdown pass, one of the few plays that consistently gave Baylor breathing room.
The bigger picture for Baylor was less about style points than survival, even against a Colorado team that went to Julian Lewis after halftime. Dawson Pendergrass added 85 yards on 16 carries, giving the Bears a steadier ground presence, but the game still underscored how much the offense ran through Lagway. For a team trying to settle into conference play, the win answered one question and left another hanging about how sustainable that formula will be. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Fans Already Have One Big Reason To Debate DJ Lagway
Baylors quarterback picture has already become one of the more interesting storylines of the season, even before the Bears have had much time to settle it. DJ Lagway opened as the starter, then missed two games with a right ankle injury, and Nate Bennett stepped in and won both of those starts. That kind of fill-in success can change the way a fan base talks about a position, especially when the team has now seen two different answers under center.
Lagway is still expected to stay in the job once hes healthy, and his contract status is part of why the Bears are likely to keep leaning that way. Still, Bennetts brief run gave Baylor supporters a real alternative to compare against, which is exactly how quarterback debates start to take on a life of their own. The Bears may have an answer for now, but the conversation around it is only getting louder. [Read more 🡒]
Palmer Williams Is Becoming A Weapon Baylor Can Actually Lean On
Palmer Williams has quietly turned into one of Baylors most dependable pieces, and his work against Colorado showed why the Bears are comfortable leaning on him in tight spots. The senior punter was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week after booting seven punts for 353 yards, averaging 50.4 yards per kick while repeatedly flipping the field and pinning Colorado deep.
For Baylor, the award carries a little extra weight because it is the programs first weekly conference honor of the 2026 season. It also marks the second time Williams has earned that kind of recognition in his career, a sign that his value is becoming more than just hidden-yardage work. When a team can trust its punter to change the tone of a game, it tends to matter later in the season, and Williams is making himself hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]