By Marquis Cooley | Sports Editor
After a 45-7 win over Kansas (1-2, 0-1) in their conference opener in Lawrence, Kan. last weekend, Baylor (3-0, 1-0) returns home for their conference home opener against No. 14 Iowa State (2-1, 0-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at McLane Stadium in what will be a “gold out” for Baylor fans.
“I think it’s going to be a big advantage for us,” head coach Dave Aranda said. “One thing that’s very apparent, just this early into the season, is that home field advantage is back to being an advantage. And so, totally looking forward to taking advantage of that.”
Aranda said he is looking forward to the challenge of playing Iowa State and has a lot of respect for their head coach Matt Campbell and how his team plays.
“There’s no mistake on who they are and who they want to be,” Aranda said. “I think they play really hard. I think they’re very physical and [I have] great respect for their coaches. For who they are and what they do, they’re a physical team [that] jumps off the screen when you watch it. Physical, big in some ways, it’s going to be an old-school matchup. [I] love old-school matchups.”
Senior wide receiver R.J. Sneed said although the Bears haven’t faced a defense similar to Iowa State yet, they know what they need to do to be successful.
“We haven’t seen this defense all year,” Sneed said. “They’re a physical defense, they run to the ball. So I think they’re going to give us more zone coverage also. So, as receivers, we have to work our windows and find open spots and just have to be on the same page with the QBs.”
Despite facing the challenge of a tough defense, Aranda said junior quarterback Gerry Bohanon’s poise is great for the team. Through the first three games of the season, Bohanon has completed 73% of his passes, throwing for 664 yards and five touchdowns with no turnovers and a Big 12-leading efficiency rating of 176.1.
“His calm makes me calm,” Aranda said. “When you see him in there and the pocket’s clean, or the pocket’s not clean, he looks the same and handles all that. It’s a good illustration, I think, for how you’d like for all of us to kind of go through stuff. He’s able to kind of take it for what it is and not get too high or get too low and just be about the business. And I think our guys take confidence from that when they see that.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears have to find a way to slow down junior running back Breece Hall, who Aranda said can carry an offense by himself. Iowa State is a team that runs the wide-zone scheme as well, which can open up holes for Hall to get to the second and third level of the defense. However, the main concern for Aranda is keeping senior quarterback Brock Purdy contained in the pocket.
“We’ve used some Iowa State examples in the past to show execution of the scramble rules,” Aranda said. “When things are not there, [Purdy] is able to maneuver in the pocket; and the receivers are maybe running a shallow or drag route, see it and then dart off. He’s able to capture them with linebackers and underneath defenders looking at the QB. They’re not staying matched on tight ends or receivers. That has been kind of a calling card for him. His ability to scramble and fake-pump guys and all that goes with it is a legitimate concern.”
The Bears defense knows that in order to be successful they have to play a clean game and not hurt themselves, something Aranda has been preaching all season.
“As far as what I see from Iowa State is a team that’s going to punish you for making mistakes,” senior defensive tackle Chidi Ogbonnaya said. “We need to make sure that we make no mistakes this week.”
