By Carson Vercoe | Sports Writer
Against Colorado last Saturday, Baylor’s offense looked questionable in its 23-13 win. A shaky run game and missed opportunities kept the Bears from running away with the game. The offense continued to show its inability to put together a complete offensive game.
But that changed on Saturday against Arizona State. The Baylor offense had a complete performance in its 55-19 win over Arizona State (2-2, 1-1 Big 12).
A solid passing attack combined with an efficient rushing attack made Baylor (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) look like an all-around confident offensive unit, something it hadn’t looked like all season.
The Bears’ run game had struggled to find consistency coming into Saturday. The rushing attack failed to get the Bears chunk yardage, let alone long runs.
But the rushing attack found its flow against the Sun Devils. The rush game managed 241 yards and three touchdowns, showing its true potential for the first time.
“I made a big point of that early in the week is that the first guy got us down too often,” head coach Dave Aranda said. “The key with that was, uh, the start, not really so much the finish. The faster that we hit the line of scrimmage, the faster we could break a tackle later in the down.”
Freshman running back Ryelan Morris got the run game rolling with his 63-yard rushing touchdown, finishing with nine carries for 84 yards.
“He’s going to be really good,” Aranda said. “He’s really fast. He hits the line of scrimmage fast, and he’s got great vision.”
Sophomore running back Caden Knighten also had his own long run with a 75-yard rushing touchdown to help the Bears pull away in the third quarter.
If the Bears can establish the run early, as they did tonight, the offense can move the ball consistently downfield.
With the dominant run game, Arizona State was forced to focus on it, which opened Baylor’s passing game.
“I feel like offensively we played complementary football,” junior quarterback DJ Lagway said. “We ran the ball well, we threw the ball well, we blocked well, we played good on situational downs.”
Lagway had his best game for Baylor. He finished 25 for 40 with 306 yards and four touchdowns, plus a rushing touchdown. Lagway looked comfortable working in the pocket and escaping when needed, connecting on all sorts of throws to his receivers.
Lagway looked healthy and confident, a sight Baylor had not seen since his first drive against Auburn. If Lagway can lead the Bears as he did tonight, they will be an explosive offense to watch.
The Lagway connection with fifth-year wide receiver Gavin Freeman was still rolling for the Bears, as the duo combined for seven catches for 115 yards.
“You know, he’s going to play his heart out, and he’s going to get open for you,” Lagway said. “He’s going to make the catches, and you know, I’m thankful for a player like him, man.”
The duo has helped build confidence in the passing attack all season and will need to keep it up if the Bears want to shake things up in the Big 12.
Baylor’s offense was clicking so well that even the tight ends got involved.
Senior tight ends Hawkins Polley and Tony Livingston both caught their first touchdowns of the season in short red zone situations.
“I think they just had more opportunities,” Aranda said. “There are a little bit more possessions in this game, with those scoring as much as they did being out on the field as much as they were. There were opportunities to find them.”
The tight ends could continue to be featured in short-yardage situations to help the offense find other avenues to attack condensed defenses.
The offense has all the makings of reaching its potential, and it was on full display tonight. If they can keep establishing the run early and lean on the passing game when needed, this team can beat the upper-quadrant Big 12 teams later in the season.
The blowout win was a complete team effort from offense to defense. If Baylor can keep establishing a confident, consistent style of play on offense with an already talented defense, the sky is the limit for this squad.
“Without Gavin making plays and O-line making a heck of a block, I wouldn’t be talking to you today,” Lagway said. “ The game wouldn’t have looked the way it looked, so it’s a team effort”
The Bears will be on their bye next week, allowing them to get healthy at the right time before continuing on through Big 12 play. They will then return home to take on TCU on Oct. 17 at McLane Stadium.
