By Hannah Webb | News Editor
Baylor football is bowl-eligible, two games into the interim head coach Joe Klanderman era and somehow still so very impossible to figure out.
The Bears (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) defeated Iowa State (4-5, 2-4 Big 12) 42-31 at McLane Stadium Saturday, earning bowl eligibility and their second consecutive win under Klanderman. But with three difficult Big 12 matchups remaining, Baylor’s late-season momentum doesn’t have all the answers.
Baylor is heading into the final stretch of its season with matchups against No. 9 BYU, No. 15 Texas Tech and No. 17 Houston. It is a brutal way to close out the year, particularly for a team that has struggled to put together four consistent quarters.
The Bears could easily get blown out, but they could very well pull off an upset. They could look like a completely different team every Saturday.
That is what makes bowl-eligible Baylor the Big 12’s biggest wildcard.
The Bears have shown they can compete, and they have shown they can fall apart. They have a quarterback capable of making explosive plays, a team riding a two-game winning streak and an interim coach who has yet to lose.
But none of that guarantees anything against the conference’s toughest competition. Baylor might finish the season with a statement win or it might limp into a bowl game. It just might surprise everyone. For once, the most honest prediction is that nobody really knows.
If Baylor has established one thing this season, it is that consistency isn’t exactly something to brag about.
The Bears have spent much of the year alternating between moments of brilliance, such as the dominant road showing against Arizona State, and stretches that leave fans disappointed and confused about the team they are watching, such as the home loss to TCU and the heartbreaker against Kansas.
Saturday was no exception. Baylor fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter before finding its first points off an Iowa State muffed punt. Senior cornerback Stilton McKelvey recovered the ball and put the Bears back in possession. Baylor wasted little time capitalizing, with fifth-year wide receiver Gavin Freeman hauling in a 29-yard pass before senior tight end Tony Livingston found the end zone, cutting the deficit to 10-7.
The momentum was short-lived, however, as Iowa State answered with a touchdown to extend its lead to 17-7.
Junior quarterback DJ Lagway called the series a “turnaround,” and it was. Baylor flipped the switch, scoring three more touchdowns before halftime and taking a 21-17 lead into the break. What looked like another frustrating afternoon turned into a homecoming win.
Lagway looked electric, throwing for 229 yards and running for a career-high 119. Iowa State’s Aiden Flora, meanwhile, made a compelling case as the most unstoppable player on the field, rushing for 182 yards and a touchdown.
Baylor’s defense, however, took some time to find its footing. Fifth-year defensive lineman Traevon Mitchell acknowledged Flora’s impact and the defense’s early struggles.
“I feel like we started off slow; 21 [Flora] was a great back,” Mitchell said. “He played a lot of things slow and bounced a lot of balls out. He made a lot of things happen.”
Mitchell said the defense regrouped and adjusted, emphasizing the need to “make better decisions, make better switches” and get away from certain plays to “just be able to play free and make a stop when we needed to.”
For a team that entered Saturday as the Big 12’s most penalized, Baylor showed unusual restraint. The Bears did not receive their first accepted penalty until less than 10 minutes remained. Junior offensive lineman Koltin Sieracki said playing clean football was a major emphasis throughout the week.
“Just not having flags, playing clean football, letting go when you get outside the framework of your body,” Sieracki said.
The Bears are now 2-0 under Klanderman following Dave Aranda’s departure. It is still too early to declare a complete turnaround, but Baylor has shown flashes of a team willing to respond instead of fold. Lagway’s ability to make plays with his legs has also given the offense another dimension — one that could prove important down the stretch.
Klanderman seems well aware of Baylor’s identity crisis.
“I think our guys are buying into the fact that we’re through being this wishy-washy group,” Klanderman said. “We’re wondering what Baylor group is going to show up.”
Colby McCalister echoed that sentiment, pointing to early communication issues on the defensive side.
“Early on it was just a couple of communication busts, a bit sloppy,” McCalister said. “Nevertheless, a win’s a win, and I’m glad to get to run with the guys.”
Baylor will seek to figure this out first against No. 7 BYU Saturday in Provo, Utah, at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
