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.
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