By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Reviving an old Big 12 Conference competition, Baylor football is set to meet Colorado after a 14-year hiatus in the national limelight against Coach Prime at 7 p.m. at Folsom Field in Boulder. While head coach Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes have been on at prime time since he took over the program in 2023, the Bears have stumbled off the national stage.
With the green and gold off to a 2-1 start, head coach Dave Aranda and the Bears once again have the opportunity to show their improvement under the “bright lights and cameras.” Both Aranda and Sanders are in the same boat: they are trying to bring their programs back to revenge after a few disappointing down seasons. Despite their commonality, their coaching styles couldn’t be more different.
“I have a lot of respect for him,” Aranda said of Sanders. “We’re going to go into a homecoming game for them, and it’s going to be packed. It’s nationally televised —probably not for us, it’s probably for them. And so I think he’s doing a great job. I have a lot of respect for him.”
The Buffs have a 9-7 record against Baylor dating back to their early Big 12 days. They rejoined the conference earlier in the year after limited success in the Pac-12. In their last meeting, the green and gold defeated Colorado 31-25.
Redshirt junior wide receiver Josh Cameron has been through the Big 12 gauntlet before, and in his fifth year the approach under Aranda hasn’t changed. While ESPN rocks headlines about the Buffaloes several times a day, it’s just another football game and chance to prove itself for Baylor.
“Honestly, the whole team is treating it like every other game. They’re a faceless, nameless opponent no matter how big the Colorado name is,” Cameron said. “We’re just treating it like another game week, we’re going to prepare the same way and execute out there.”
Saturday’s Homecoming matchup for Colorado is already sold out. In addition to the school holiday, a Big 12 Homecoming event is being hosted in Boulder. Even with a serious home-field advantage, Sanders isn’t taking the Bears lightly and has seen steady improvement under Aranda.
“Coach Aranda has done a great job of having his team disciplined, and the things that they do well, they do really well. We have to, first of all, stop the run. I don’t know which quarterback they’re going to feature this week, but we’re preparing for both quarterbacks,” Sanders said. “But [Baylor], they have athletes, they’re physical, they’re strong and they don’t make a lot of mistakes. … Where he’s taken his program is phenomenal.”
Redshirt junior quarterback Sawyer Robertson was the ninth-highest graded quarterback (90.1) in the country during Week 3, according to Pro Football Focus. After throwing for a career-high 248 yards and completing 18 of 24 passes, Robertson is listed as a co-starter on the depth chart against Colorado alongside sixth-year senior Dequan Finn. The Toledo transfer missed Baylor’s bout against Air Force due to a “shoulder injury” but returned to practice on Monday.
Despite Robertson’s top-tier play, no decision has been made on an outright starter.
“We had the Player of the Game award that we do when we win. Sawyer won that award, so the team was really fired up and excited for him. We’re going to take it, see what tomorrow brings, what Dequan can do, and see how we progress. And hope to have an idea of what it’s going to be prior to Saturday,” Aranda said.
The Bears enter the matchup with the No. 1 passing defense in the nation and No. 12 in the NCAA in total defense and scoring defense. Colorado trudges into the clash with the No. 9 passing offense in the nation but only 73rd in total offense. With Baylor planning to adjust to defending the pass after three weeks of stopping the run, the defense is focused on doing the little things right.
“People say all the time, ‘I hate losing more than I like winning.’ For me, I hate messing up my job more than I like doing my job because if I mess up, they’re going to exploit it, especially with a team like Colorado,” redshirt senior linebacker Brooks Miller said. “They’re looking for the mismatches and they’re going to go for it every time. If I’m not in the right position, it’s going to mess up my teammates.”
During spring and fall camp, Aranda noted that the team craved the opportunity to see a fullback in the backfield or a three tight end set. But after spending the first three weeks of the season shutting down a pro-style offense and the triple option, the Bears have a big adjustment to make when preparing to defend Colorado’s spread offense.
“It just seems like it’s been so many moons since we’ve seen a spread attack, where that was all that we were seeing in the spring and fall camp. So, it’s good to get back to that,” Aranda said. “We have plenty of one-on-one time throughout practice that we go through, but to get the scout work and get back to some of the things that we were doing that seems so long ago, is good to do.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo., with the game being broadcast on FOX.
