By Marquis Cooley | Sports Editor
In a battle of unbeatens, No. 21 Baylor takes on No. 19 Oklahoma State University at 6 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. The Bears (4-0, 2-0) are ranked for the first time since the 2019 season, however head coach Dave Aranda said the team isn’t worried about rankings.
“No, [but] I can recognize that from an outside perspective,” Aranda said when asked if he cares about rankings. “We’re completely in the grind. Just to really be just enveloped in the details of just doing simple better and getting better with what we do is where we want it all to be.”
Aranda said the team’s even-keeled approach to everything this season is something that they have been working on daily. The team is focused on making the most of the present.
“It is about day by day, it is about trying to be intentional by getting the most out of the time that we’ve got,” Aranda said. “People value the value that you provide, and not the time spent. Knowing what you’re doing it for, knowing what’s your ‘why,’ and being really intentional about ‘I’m going to get this out of what I’m doing,’ that’s the key, and that’s an everyday thing.”
Coming off a hard-fought 31-29 win over Iowa State (2-2, 0-1) last weekend, this week’s matchup may seem like a big game to the fans. However, senior offensive lineman Jacob Gall is treating it like any other game.
“I’ve always tried to keep that mindset, it’s just the next game or that [last game] was just a game,” Gall said. “Same thing for this week. I mean, it’s going to be the same style of game and just my next game. And that’s what I’m prepared for and that’s why I’m here.”
Aranda said he’s friends with OSU’s (4-0, 1-0) defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and that Knowles is a guy he roots for. With that familiarity, Aranda also knows what to expect from OSU’s defense Saturday.
“They play fast, they have a lot of guys up on the line of scrimmage,” Aranda said. “He lets his guys loose so there’ll be more pressure in this game than there was considerably in the last one, a lot more man coverage and a lot more zero coverage. In this last game we played in, not a lot of press, not a lot of man. It’s almost reversed now … there’s a greater potential for a bad play or a really good play. For us to kind of get that math on our terms is going to be a big part in the game. We talk about identity like the O-line and D-line leading the way. This is going to be a major factor, our O-line slowing down their rush and their ability to disrupt.”
But Gall knows that the OSU defense isn’t going to attack in just one way.
“They have a ton of different formations, a ton of different blitzes,” Gall said. “They bounce around and do a ton of different things so I think variety is probably their strength.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the speed of OSU redshirt junior quarterback Spencer Sanders gives the Bears’ defense something to focus on.
“There’s a growing confidence with [Spencer Sanders],” Aranda said. “Right away you can see his legs and his ability to create. He gets into [the] red zone and critical must-have areas and now all of a sudden zone reads or running back runs become a quarterback keep. They save the best for last, in terms of the closer they get. But then you know, a lot of his receivers are getting back.”
With receivers returning for OSU, Aranda is prepared for OSU attempting to take deep shots down the sidelines.
“They are a team where if they see, and you can go to our game last year as evidence of this, if they see a one-on-one outside, they’re going to take it where there’s less and less teams in our league that are inclined to do that,” Aranda said. “This league used to be full of teams like that, Oklahoma State’s one [of] the remaining few that think that way and and take advantage of it and so we’re anticipating that.”
The Bears will also have to watch out for the ground attack as redshirt senior running back Jaylen Warren has been a big part of the Cowboys’ offense, averaging 96.75 rushing yards per game while also finding the end zone four times so far this season. Aranda said Warren is a difference maker.
“Physical, explosive, looks like he’s got a turbo pack on back there when he gets the ball,” Aranda said. “He jumps off the screen and has been the difference in their offense really.”
In what will be a delight for Baylor fans, former Heisman-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III will be part of the broadcast team for this week’s game.
“I’m a big fan of [Griffin],” Aranda said. “He’s spoken to the team before and outside of everything that he’s done as a player, [he’s] just a super person … when he spoke to the team just about being a better person and how important character is and being a good teammate, I think his words in that space was just so strong, and it’s stuff we still refer to now. I appreciate that; it’ll be a cool day for Baylor.”
