By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Editor
Baylor’s loss to TCU left fans and the team frustrated and disappointed. The offense was silent for four quarters in front of the largest crowd of the season, leaving a hollow feeling in Baylor’s locker room.
While the defeat still lingers, the Bears are itching to get back on the field and prove themselves to a despondent fan base.
“You can feel that, ‘I want another shot. I want to play right now. This ain’t us. I’m embarrassed. I’m pissed off. I’m ready to go,’” head coach Dave Aranda said. “All of those are real positive things, and those are things that we can use to drive, and those are things I think we can start another streak.”
Baylor (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) hits the road to face off against Kansas (2-4, 0-3 Big 12) as both teams enter the matchup with a vengeance after losing rivalry games.
“[It] definitely gives you a little more chip on your shoulder,” fifth-year defensive end Kyler Jordan said. “Whenever we went to Arizona State, that’s how we felt. It was like us against the world. And so, I think it’ll definitely be good for us to get out there and take care of business.”
The Jayhawks are coming off a 35-24 loss to in-state foe Kansas State, and they are chasing their first conference win of the season. While Baylor boasts a 14-game win streak over Kansas, it recognizes the threat the Jayhawks pose.
“They’ve got talented players on the edge and are athletic and explosive,” Aranda said. “It’s a team that’s hunting for respect.”
The Bears were shocked by the underdog Horned Frogs. Fifth-year wide receiver Jayden McGowan recognized that the loss may have stemmed from their less intense practices last week.
“We really don’t know what happened,” McGowan said. “We just got to do better. We think maybe we could have got a little complacent over the bye week, and maybe the last week of practice wasn’t as good as the week going into Arizona State.”
The players are looking to change that immediately after suffering their first conference loss. They held a meeting with all the offensive players Tuesday morning, with junior quarterback DJ Lagway and junior receiver Jadon Porter leading the way.
“We had a player-led offensive meeting this morning,” McGowan said. “We had a lot of guys speaking up, but those two were at the front.”
Lagway’s message was clear. The six-point performance was not like them, and they need to move on from it.
“[He was] telling us to get back to our brand of football,” McGowan said. “Let’s not let that loss dictate us.”
The offensive line has received the brunt of the criticism following Saturday. Aranda said that each one of the offensive linemen made mistakes at different points in the game, generating a need for them to play more as a solid unit.
“There’s guys that have to work on technique on certain blocks that they’re struggling with,” Aranda said. “For others, it’s a mental issue of letting go of a mistake and carrying it. Take the lesson. Don’t carry the weight and move on to the next.”
Kansas’ defense will be a step back from the TCU unit Baylor faced last week. The Jayhawks allow 24 points and 348 yards per game compared to the Horned Frogs’ 12.2 points and 264.2 yards — both Big 12 bests.
Kansas may not bring as much pressure as TCU, but Lagway will have to navigate a defense that fills up the secondary.
“They’re a big simulated pressure group,” Aranda said. “They’ll look like they’re blitzing but just bring four guys.”
The Bears visit the Jayhawks at noon Saturday at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.
