Baylor enters Saturday night’s matchup with TCU in Waco with the kind of momentum every coach wants to protect and every opponent dreads facing. The Bears have won four straight, stayed unbeaten in Big 12 play and turned those games into a one-sided stretch, outscoring opponents 158-54 along the way.
That run has Baylor at 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference, putting the Bears among five teams without a Big 12 loss. TCU, meanwhile, arrives at 2-3 overall and 0-2 in league play after dropping its last two games.
Still, Dave Aranda isn’t interested in letting anyone look too far ahead.
"We're not done becoming who we can become yet," Bears coach Dave Aranda said. "We haven't done anything yet."
Baylor is coming off a 55-19 rout at Arizona State on Oct. 3, a game that showcased just how efficiently the Bears are humming right now. DJ Lagway threw for 306 yards and a season-high four touchdowns in that win, and on the year he has 860 passing yards, eight touchdown passes and two interceptions.
The defense has been doing its part, too. Safeties Daniel Cobbs and Bo Onu are tied for the team lead with three sacks apiece.
Aranda knows TCU is not a team to take lightly, especially with both clubs coming off byes.
"We've got a really big test this week with TCU," he said. "I know that we're going to get their best game. They're a talented team."
TCU is trying to reset after a frustrating start to conference play. The Horned Frogs lost 17-10 to then-No. 10 BYU on Oct. 3, and the defeat gave them their first 0-2 start in Big 12 action since 2013.
Quarterback Jaden Craig was held to a season-low 187 passing yards against the Cougars after entering the game averaging 303.3. Even so, his numbers remain strong on the season: 1,400 passing yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
The running game has also been a point of emphasis. Jeremy Payne has 432 rushing yards and two touchdowns, but Sonny Dykes said the unit needs to be more consistent.
"Our goal was to be able to run the football more consistently, which we haven't really done the way that we need to," Dykes said Tuesday. "The good thing is we've played good, solid defense.
It's given us a chance to win every week. And if we get the offense to come along, then I think good things are going to happen."
TCU safety Jamel Johnson said the open week helped the Horned Frogs reset.
"We're just looking at it as a new season coming off of this bye week," he said. "We want to go on a seven-game run, so we just wanted to start over and attack every day."
In Other News...
Sonny Dykes Just Put TCU's Biggest Baylor Week Concerns In Focus
With Baylor coming up next, Sonny Dykes used his media availability to sketch out where TCU stands after the bye week and what the Horned Frogs still want cleaned up. He was joined by Jamel Johnson and Jeremy Payne, and the conversation touched on the teams progress, the offensive direction the staff wants to keep pushing, and the challenge Baylors offense presents as the rivalry game draws closer.
Dykes also spent time on individual performances and the general confidence level around the program, which has been a useful theme for TCU as it turns the page from the break to game week. What he would not do, at least publicly, was spell out every detail of the staffs self-scouting from the bye or get too specific about the receiver room picture, leaving a couple of the most interesting personnel questions still hanging as the Frogs move into one of their most watched weeks of the season. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Has Every Reason To Take This Baylor Rivalry Personally
TCU is getting ready for a rivalry game that has already carried a different kind of edge inside the building. Players have made it clear this one means more than the usual Big 12 week, with the Bluebonnet Battle trophy in play and both teams bringing defenses that can make every snap feel like it matters. For a roster that includes several transfers, the matchup has also become a chance to prove they understand what this game means to the people around the program.
The Horned Frogs know Baylor has had the upper hand recently, and that alone gives this meeting a sharper tone than most. There is a sense of unfinished business in the way TCU is talking about the game, along with a quiet confidence that contributions can come from all over the lineup when the moment arrives. Against a rival like this, even the subplots feel personal, and the Frogs seem intent on treating it that way. [Read more 🡒]
Sonny Dykes Suddenly Has A TCU Problem Fans Didn't Expect
The frustration around TCU this fall has been familiar enough to anyone watching Sonny Dykes' team closely, but the shape of it has been a little unexpected. The Horned Frogs are 2-3, still looking for their first Top 25 appearance of the season, and the balance of the roster has flipped in a way few would have predicted, with the defense doing its part nationally while the offense has struggled to keep pace.
A big part of that conversation traces back to the quarterback room and the departure of former starter Josh Hoover, who is now at Indiana. TCU has had to live with the ripple effects of that move while trying to stabilize an offense that has not found much rhythm, leaving Dykes with a problem that is as much about identity as it is about execution. [Read more 🡒]