Baylor football will look to put pressure on Arizona State by winning the battle along the line of scrimmage and forcing the Sun Devils to make key mistakes in the conference opener.

Baylor won decisively against Samford at McLane Stadium Saturday, 42-7. The defense put on its best showing to date, but still has room to improve before the first Big 12 game next week.

“Some of the Sawyer that we saw today was maybe the Sawyer from two years ago or further back,” head coach Dave Aranda said. “We’ve got to get the Sawyer that we’ve got now, we’ve got to get him back to himself as last year or the beginning of this year. That was not what was happening today.”

The Bears struggled in the second half, but still won their final nonconference game in unquestioned fashion. Bryson Washington ran for two touchdowns and the defense forced three interceptions in the winning effort.

After winning a double-overtime thriller against SMU, Baylor will host FCS Samford. The Bears look to breeze by a winless Bulldogs team.

Through two games, no Power-conference quarterback has thrown for more yards than Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson. National pundits have begun to take notice.

As Baylor’s final non-conference matchup of the season approaches, the Bears are still picking up the pieces of their defensive puzzle.