By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Carrying the weight of a decade of consecutive home losses to TCU, Baylor football wanted to turn the tides of the rivalry in 2024 — and do so in front of a sea of black.
The back-and-forth affair came down to the leg of kicker Isaiah Hankins, who delivered, kicking a 33-yard field goal with time expiring to give Baylor its first home win over the Horned Frogs since 2014. The fans flooded the field to celebrate the crucial win.
“We have a bunch of former players that this means a lot to,” head coach Dave Aranda said. “Our guys that are on a team now remember last year; we got a fair amount of guys that remember a couple years ago when it was a field goal the other way.”
A year after the Bears’ walk-off victory, and on the heels of a bye week, Baylor (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) will travel to Fort Worth to take on TCU (4-2, 1-2 Big 12).
“There’s a lot of really tight games, competitive games,” Aranda said. “It’s tough to play there. They’re fired up for this one.”
The rivalry energy is apparent among the Bears. The Horned Frogs have had Baylor’s number over the past decade, taking an 8-2 record since 2015.
“It’s good when it’s kind of boiling underneath the surface,” Aranda said. “It’s a good feeling because you know it’s there, you know it’s pushing people.”
TCU’s formidable offense — which ranks 34th in scoring and yards per game — is led by quarterback Josh Hoover, who ranks second in passing yards and third in passing touchdowns. The Horned Frogs’ nine turnovers are one less than Baylor’s mark.
“They’re explosive on offense,” Aranda said. “They don’t turn the ball over, they are really effective at making explosive plays and they’ve got receivers that can make contested catches.”
Baylor is also trying to bring back multiple key pieces that have struggled with injuries. Senior offensive lineman Omar Aigbedion missed Week 5 against Kansas State, redshirt sophomore running back Bryson Washington was injured against the Wildcats and junior safety Carl Williams IV has only appeared in Week 2 vs. SMU.
“Omar’s back with us doing everything that he’s supposed to be doing,” Aranda said. “B-Wash [is] doing everything he’s supposed to be doing, but we did not see Carl.”
This road matchup comes at a pivotal point in Baylor’s season. In 2024, the Bears came into the bye week with a 2-4 record and jumped out of it with a six-game winning streak. They are now 4-2 following the bye and a similar late-season run could land Baylor in contention for the Big 12 championship game.
“We’re on the road, we’re playing this team; it’s going to take everything we got,” Aranda said. “This is where your teams fall off and teams separate, and we’re all about separating.”
The Bears travel to Fort Worth to face off against TCU at 11 a.m. Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
