By Will Chamblee | Sports Writer
“Frustrating” was the word Baylor head coach Dave Aranda used to describe Baylor’s fifth straight loss, this time at the hands of Texas Tech, on Saturday.
The Bears allowed the Red Raiders to score the last 12 points en-route to a heartbreaking 24-23 loss in Lubbock.
“Starting fast” has been the mantra that Aranda and the Baylor coaching staff have preached over the last two weeks, but for the second week in a row, the Bears have been unable to follow up their fast start with a win.
“We talked about starting fast this week as well and practiced that way,” Aranda said. “We tried to connect the fast start with finishing strong and still have work to do in that regard.”
Baylor has led at halftime during their last two games against Texas Tech and Iowa State, only to blow those leads in the second half.
“We put a big emphasis the past two weeks on starting fast and I think we’ve done that,” sophomore linebacker Dillon Doyle said. “The next part of that is finishing strong and that’s a step in the process.”
Baylor’s chances of obtaining a second win this season and breaking the losing streak seem slim, as the Bears’ remaining games are against the Big-12’s best in Kansas State, No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 14 Oklahoma State.
Aranda seems confident in his locker room, however, saying that the poor performances haven’t defeated the Bears yet and that the team still has the motivation to do well.
“Anytime you are going through this it’s not good, but our team has been able to have a fair amount of competitive fire and ownership,” Aranda said.
Some fans have called for Aranda to place either redshirt sophomore Gerry Bohanan or redshirt freshman Jacob Zeno in at quarterback. Current starting quarterback Charlie Brewer has posted career lows in passer rating and yards per pass attempt through six games this season.
However, Aranda said, like he has all season long, that he will continue to stick with Brewer, as he believes the senior gives Baylor the best chance to win.
“We’ve got a lot of faith in Charlie,” Aranda said. “He’s still got a lot to give.”
Baylor will have a much-needed week off before returning to action on Nov. 28 against Kansas State at McLane Stadium in Waco.
“To me the ability for us to stay together, for us to focus on the things that we can control, and we can get better at, that is what has allowed us to progress to the point where we are in these fights,” Aranda said. “We’ve got to stay on track with that. Put the focus where the focus needs to be — get better.”
