By Bennett Parker | Sports Writer
Baylor has yet to reach its full potential on the field. Despite penalties and inconsistencies on offense, the squad is on its first three-game win streak since 2024. Arizona State is also looking to put it all together in a crucial home game.
A last-second, 43-yard field goal lifted the Sun Devils past the Bears in McLane Stadium last season, leaving head coach Dave Aranda looking for his first career victory against the Big 12 force.
“[Arizona State is] going to be a major test,” Aranda said. “The coaching contest is going to be a good one this week. A lot of respect to them.”
Arizona State (2-1) and Baylor (3-1) both sit in the middle of the pack in the Big 12. Each team has shown flashes throughout the season but has yet to play its best football for all four quarters. The Bears believe winning in the trenches is a key to winning their fourth straight.
Sun Devil quarterback Cutter Boley has started the season strong and will challenge the strong Baylor defense. He has racked up 736 passing yards through three games while boasting a 10 total touchdowns to two interceptions.
“Offensively, they’ve got a quarterback that makes really good decisions,” Aranda said. “He’s able to see the shells, the man [coverage] stuff, the zone stuff. They’ve got some receivers they move around. They’ll put two pretty elite receivers to the boundary.”
Getting Boley off balance will be key in slowing down the Arizona State offense. Baylor has thrived at creating chaos in the backfield, being tied for fourth in the nation with 15 team sacks. Sophomore safety Bo Onu Jr. is holding to that mindset as the Bears hit the road.
“[Quarterback pressure] will be important,” Onu said. “He’s not an NFL quarterback or anything like that … He’s a good quarterback, but we’ve been playing good quarterbacks all season.”
The Baylor defense hasn’t given up 20 points in a game yet this season, but the offense has faced some inconsistencies, and some of them have stemmed from the offensive line.
The group has struggled early on due to seemingly constant injuries. The offensive line has seen multiple spots rotate through the first four games. Eighth-year Cooper Lovelace, sophomore Harrison Cluff and senior Cole Rhett have received meaning playing time while filling in across the line.
One of the most glaring effects of the offensive line’s injuries is the lacking run game. The Bears average 150 rushing yards a game, ranking 14th in the Big 12.
“I think we’ve had a tough few weeks rushing, and that’s always hard,” freshman offensive lineman Koltin Sieracki said. “That falls on us entirely, just getting the ball down the field and pushing it up. Physicality, big emphasis this week, is just being physical on the offensive line and moving people and being man movers.”
The fourth quarter against Colorado was a breath of fresh air for the struggling unit. Baylor ran the ball 16 times for 80 yards to close out the 23-13 win.
“That was a big boost for us confidence-wise,” Sieracki said. “[It’s] just frustrating knowing that we could have been executing that the whole game, start to finish, and then just not. So, that was really tough to see on tape, and we could have been doing that the entire time.”
Senior running back Dawson Pendergrass is a weapon for the Baylor offense that has not found his rhythm. He has run the ball 73 times for 287 yards, averaging 3.9 yards per carry. If the offensive line can sure up the run blocking, the offense might be able to finally find a balance between the ground game and the air attack.
The Bears take on Arizona State at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
