THIS IS THE STANDARD

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – Baylor's Homecoming fans got to see firsthand "a team that we've seen and we've known," coach Dave Aranda said following the Bears' dominating 30-3 win over UCF Saturday afternoon at McLane Stadium.

Snapping a two-game losing skid, Baylor (5-4, 3-3) rolled up 417 yards total offense while holding the visiting Knights (4-4, 1-4) to 225 yards total, a season-low 74 yards rushing and without a touchdown for the first time in almost 10 years. It was also the fewest points the Bears have allowed in a conference game since a 17-3 win over Kansas State on Sept. 30, 2006.

"That's the team that we've seen and we've known," Aranda said. "To be able to have other people see it is truly fulfilling. I think the thing for us now is, 'Hey, man, this is what it is.' We know we can meet the standard. We need to meet the standard every time out."

True freshman running back Caden Knighten certainly met the standard . . . and then some. He rushed for a career-high 104 yards on 21 carries and added one catch for 22 yards, totaling 126 yards on 22 touches.

"Caden Knighten had a great game, and I thought a lot of it was done up front," Aranda said. "Caden's getting better at kind of following his blocks and not spinning out and running sideways on things."

Four weeks ago, in the Bears' 35-34 win over Kansas State, Knighten danced too much and lost 11 yards on one play, finishing with minus-6 yards on five carries.

"He's got instincts, which is hard, because his instincts partly got him here," Aranda said of Knighten, a four-star recruit who rushed for 1,883 yards and scored 38 touchdowns last year at Oklahoma's Pauls Valley High School.

"You have to kind of let go, and that's just difficult, because that's what got you here. You have to let that go and trust people to get to a higher level. And he's doing that. I've talked to him privately and said, 'Man, I'm just way impressed.' The best is yet to come with him."

Quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns, said Knighten "has a unique ability to make people miss, spin moves, whatever it is."

"I think that feeds into the sideline energy. He definitely sparked us a few times. A career day for him. Hopefully, he's going to get in the ice bath and enjoy this bye week."

Robertson got it going early, hitting six of his first seven passes for 63 yards on the opening drive and connecting with tight end Michael Trigg for the 13-yard TD pass that gave the Bears the lead for good.

Trigg added a 22-yard, one-handed catch on the Bears' second drive, which ended with a two-yard TD strike to Josh Cameron. Setting program records for a tight end in career (1,002) and season yards (607), Trigg finished with 82 yards on five grabs.

"Any team that plays us one-on-one, I think that's a mismatch. We've got guys who are going to make plays," Robertson said. "Trigg, obviously, just because he's so tall and long arms and athletic, he has an easier time making those 50-50 plays. It's my job to give him a catchable ball. He had a great game today, kind of sparked it. I love that for him."

The Bears also got a spark, even before the game, from wide receivers coach Dallas Baker dancing on the sidelines and getting guys hyped.

"If you know anything about anyone from Florida, they're just high energy, 24-7," receiver Kole Wilson said of Baker, who won a national championship at Florida. "That's literally Coach Baker. Even in the building, it's high energy 24-7. If you see anyone make a catch, he's the first person down there. If you see him before the game, he's jumping up and down. I haven't seen anything like it, but we love it."

Maybe the most surprising element of Saturday's game, though, was the defense coming that close to pitching a shutout. Baylor had allowed a combined 83 points in the previous two games and was averaging 34.2 points per game in conference play.

UCF's only points came on a 45-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, set up by a Robertson fumble in Knights' territory.

"That was as frustrating of an offensive performance as I've been a part of," UCF head coach Scott Frost said. "What's weird is, going into the game . . . guys were dialed in, excited to play. I thought that was the most ready we've been to play, and it certainly didn't play out that way on the field."

Aranda, now in his second year calling plays, said the defense "just needed something positive, really, just something to go good."

That started with a three-and-out on the Knights' opening series of the game and ended with interceptions by safeties DJ Coleman and Jacob Redding that sealed it.

"From here on out, we're treating everything like fourth-and-one," defensive lineman Jackie Marshall said. "The pressure's on, we need a stop, we need to get off the field. That's what we practice and we preach all week. And that happened today."

Aranda called it a big step forward for the defense going into a final stretch that includes No. 17/19 Utah (7-2, 4-2) in a home game Nov. 15, Arizona (5-3, 2-3) on the road on Nov. 22 and a Nov. 29 regular-season finale at home against Houston (7-2, 4-2). The Bears still need to win at least one more game to become bowl-eligible for the 13^th time in 16 years.

"I think there's faith, faith, faith. There's got to be something on the other side of that," Aranda said. "I think once there is that, then suddenly, guys kind of put their cleats in the grass and they can play with a little bit more, and they can react a little bit faster. That's just the way we're kind of built and designed. So, once there was a little bit of success, we were able to kind of take off with it."

The Bears are off this week before hosting the Utes, with kickoff time and TV designation potentially announced on Monday. Utah blew out then-No. 17 Cincinnati, 45-14, a week after the Bearcats handed Baylor a 41-20 loss.

THIS IS THE STANDARD

Players Mentioned

Josh Cameron

DJ Coleman

Caden Knighten

Jackie Marshall

Jacob Redding

Sawyer Robertson

Michael Trigg

Kole Wilson

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