By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
A lot has transpired since Baylor football nearly met with Houston on Sept. 19, 2020, in Waco.
The Bears won the 2021 Big 12 championship and 2022 Allstate Sugar Bowl before coming back to earth over the last 14 months. The Cougars moved from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12 for the 2023 season, and now both teams sit in a similar spot as they approach their first matchup since 1995.
The old in-state rivals were on the cusp of a nonconference battle during the COVID-19-riddled 2020 season, but Baylor postponed the game less than 24 hours before kickoff due to Big 12 COVID-19 protocols. Houston’s press release said the game was flat-out canceled, and Cougars head coach Dana Holgorsen is sticking to that statement.
“We were about to go play them in 2020, but that thing got shut down the day before the game,” Holgorsen said during his weekly press conference Monday. “Still kind of mad about that. Excited about playing this week.”
Holgorsen tweeted a photo of the Houston equipment truck sitting in front of McLane Stadium shortly after the game was called off. Mack Rhoades, Baylor vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics as well as a former athletic director at Houston, said he wasn’t pleased with Holgorsen’s behavior.
We were ready and we will stay ready… #GoCoogs #%$@&$ pic.twitter.com/wAtINo1as9
— Dana Holgorsen (@Holgorsendana) September 18, 2020
“I’ll be candid — I’m disappointed in their head coach and the chirping,” Rhoades said on SicEm365 Radio. “And I let the [Houston athletic director] know it. And in my opinion, [it’s] not professional, but we’ll move on, and we’ll move forward.”
Three years removed from the falling-out, Baylor (3-5, 2-3 Big 12) and Houston (3-5, 1-4 Big 12) will rekindle a rivalry that dates back to 1950. The Bears and Cougars met every year from 1976-1995 as members of the Southwest Conference.
It’s an evenly-matched series, as Baylor holds the slight edge 14-13-1 in the all-time record, including two-straight wins.
“What a challenge it’s going to be,” Bears head coach Dave Aranda said of the upcoming contest. “We’re looking forward to getting back into the win column, and I know it’ll be a tough one versus a talented Houston team.”
Holgorsen said the excitement level for this game is off the charts, given the history and how Houston is only about 180 miles from Waco.
“Three hours up the road, all our players know all of their players,” Holgorsen said. “This one’s going to be fun.”
The Bears are coming off a 30-18 homecoming loss to Iowa State on Saturday, while the Cougars were walloped 41-0 at Kansas State, which is now ranked No. 23 in the first College Football Playoff Poll.
Baylor fell into a 17-6 halftime deficit and tried to play catch-up in the second half — a similar storyline as other home games this season. The Bears are 1-5 at McLane Stadium and 2-0 on the road.
Redshirt senior linebacker Matt Jones said the team hasn’t been able to get fired up as much in home games. Jones said it’s an issue that’s unfathomable, but he tried explaining how it looks as a member of the team.
“I feel like when we’re here at home, we don’t really think of like, oh, it’s us versus them,” Jones said. “I feel like we’re thinking of it as us — as in the stadium — versus them, rather than how it needs to be us-players versus them-players.”
The slow starts are something Aranda and the coaching staff have been trying to work through for weeks now. Aranda said Houston is another team that Baylor can’t afford to come out sluggish against.
The Bears are still winless against FBS opponents in their last seven home games since November 2022.
“When [Houston is] fully engaged and in a fight and all of it, they’re as dangerous as any team in our league with the playmakers that they have,” Aranda said. “And so it’s really important for us to start fast and to be connected.”
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Josh Cameron said a first-quarter lead “would be everything.” Cameron said it could propel this team to a strong first half, something that’s been nonexistent for Baylor in 2023.
#Baylor football has been outscored 135-65 in the first half of games versus FBS opponents this season, including road contests.
FBS foes are out scoring the Bears 93-38 in the first half at McLane Stadium.
HC Dave Aranda said team needs to start faster, point-blank-period.
— Michael Haag (@MichaelHaag_) October 30, 2023
“With Cincinnati, you could feel the energy when we were up,” Cameron said of the Bears’ 32-29 win at Cincinnati on Oct. 21. “There was never any doubt of, ‘Oh, we’re going to lose.’”
Baylor needs to win three of its last four games to reach a bowl game for the third-straight season. Aranda said that thought is on the team’s mind, and they have to flat-out play better.
“It’s one at a time, and what an opportunity Saturday versus a talented Houston team so we can start this run,” Aranda said.
Baylor and Houston will kick off their contest at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at McLane Stadium. The matchup will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Injury room:
- Aranda said junior wide receiver Ketron Jackson Jr. is likely out with a head injury.
- Redshirt sophomore cornerback Tevin Williams III is also doubtful with a head injury for Saturday’s game, per Aranda.
- Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Tate Williams also suffered a head injury against Iowa State, and Aranda said his inclination is that Williams will be out, too.
