By Jacob Stowers | Digital Content Producer
Baylor left Atlanta with a 17-16 loss and a game-losing two-point conversion that was short by inches.
Still, the Bears (0-1) showed up in a different form than they did around a year ago when Auburn (1-0) left McLane Stadium with a 38-24 win.
Both sides of the ball had great plays and some mistakes tonight, but the one that will stick with Baylor fans is the final snap at the goal line. Head coach Dave Aranda went for two instead of an extra point to send the game to overtime, and tight end Matthew Klopfenstein, junior quarterback DJ Lagway’s target, was tackled just short of the goal line, resulting in a tight defeat.
On the other side of the ball, Baylor’s newly minted defense under defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman had a masterclass that Baylor’s 2025 team could have taken some notes from. The Bears ended the game with three interceptions and 11 Tackles for loss against Auburn. Aranda said that it looked like the defense Baylor has been creating since last spring.
“I think it all starts up front for us; it was good to see the active linebackers and safeties.” Aranda said, “There was a few missed tackles on their sideline that I wish we would have taken back, but outside of that I thought it was clean for the first game.”
Klanderman’s defense was the shining hope in the game. For the most part, Baylor’s defense kept the game within one score against an SEC team that consistently outpaced the Bears a year ago.
Another key reason this year was not a repeat of last year is Lagway. The new quarterback injured his ankle on the opening drive and still finished with 333 yards, completing 27 out of 54 total passes despite his taped-up ankle. Lagway’s ankle not only slowed the offense down, but it also took the run game off the table for Baylor.
“It’s an ankle sprain as far as I know right now,” said Aranda. “We have both packages of DJ runs and really a lot of running in the game. Him being hurt really cut that down.”
The team believed they would win throughout the game despite trailing the entire way. That mentality led Aranda to make some gutsy decisions from the sidelines, including not kicking the extra point and pushing into overtime.
“Everyone believed we [were] going to win; I did, and we fought to try and get that win.” said Aranda. “Guys were playing through pain, discomfort, and all that. It’s one of the reasons for going for it. You know, we had a bunch of guys getting band-aided up, and we had a chance to kind of close it out.”
Belief in a win and winning are two different things. Baylor still opened things up with a rough first quarter and a rough last minute of the game. In total, Baylor put up 436 yards but only 16 points. Aranda didn’t blame the final play for Baylor’s loss; he blamed the lacking first quarter.
“Mistakes, that’s why we lost,” Aranda said. “Early in the game, there’s too many opportunities that we had to finish drives, to put points on the board, and we didn’t do it. I take the credit for that; I should have done a better job in coaching that.”
Saturday’s game was not a total loss for Baylor. Fans discovered that the defense can hold its own against high-level teams and that Lagway can operate effectively through injury. The team thought they would beat Auburn on Saturday, and while they didn’t get the result they wanted in Atlanta, they are a different team than they were when Auburn left Waco last September.
While the Bears left Mercedes-Benz Stadium disappointed, the season looks positive moving forward.
The Bears are 0-1 going into their next game against Prairie View A&M at 7 p.m. Saturday at McLane Stadium.
