STARTS UP FRONT
10/18/2026 5:34:00 PM | Football
After 17-6 loss to TCU, Aranda says Bears need to "fix" the offensive line
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – While quarterback DJ Lagway obviously struggled in Saturday's 17-6 loss to TCU in the Revilvary Game, completing just 41.5% of his passes, throwing a pick and getting sacked four times, Baylor coach Dave Aranda made it clear that the Bears' problems began up front.
"I think a lot of the issues we had with DJ were just lack of the run game and, really, the lack of protection at times as well," said Aranda, whose team fell to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12 after seeing its four-game winning streak snapped by the Horned Frogs (3-3, 1-2).
"It was just a tough night for him in terms of things being clean and things being where they're supposed to be, prior to any pass or any completion or any of those things."
After hitting two explosives and rushing for 244 yards in a 55-19 win over Arizona State two weeks ago, the Bears were held to a season-low 54 yards on the ground. Even with the adjusted run total that takes out the sacks, they averaged just 2.8 yards per attempt.
Against ASU, Baylor had touchdown runs of 75 yards by Caden Knighten and 63 yards by freshman Ryelan Morris. The longest run Saturday night was a nine-yard pickup in the second quarter by Morris, who fumbled two plays later.
"We have to run the ball better," Aranda said. "We've got to be more competitive up front, and we've shown we can do that, whether it's the first game of the year, to (the ASU game), to this game. So, we've got to get back to doing that.
"I think the way this offense is centered is you run the ball, you get the nickels and safeties creeping in, and then you throw the RPOs. You run the ball, you get one-on-one throws outside, and you make them. Without running, none of those things happen."
After giving up just the second first-quarter touchdown of the season, a 25-yard TD pass from Jaden Craig to Ed Small, the Baylor defense completely shut down TCU for the rest of the half. On one series, safety Micah Gifford forced a fumble that the Frogs recovered and then picked off a Craig pass on the very next play.
"That's just the grittiness of our defense," Gifford said. "That's what we really pride ourselves on, just getting in the dirt, being grimy, being tougher than most people. It doesn't matter where they are on the field, we're going to try to keep points off the board."
With TCU up 7-6 at halftime, the game essentially turned on one play. Two plays into the second quarter, Craig hit receiver Jordan Dwyer for a 67-yard hook-up and then tossed an eight-yard TD pass to tight end Ka'Morreun Pempton that made it 14-6.
At one point, Aranda said the offensive guards were swapped out, "trying to find ways to kick-start it and get it going."
"The good thing is, we've got a good amount of depth," Aranda said, "but we need a much better performance than what we had tonight. This was not acceptable."
After a wasted third quarter that saw the Bears punt twice and turn it over on a Lagway interception, Baylor put together a pair of threats that fizzled out on TCU's end of the field. On the last one, when BU got down to the 18-yard line, the offense line was flagged three times for holding and once for a false start.
"We just struggled," Aranda said. "The whole second half, they had a light box with five guys in the core. So, they're basically playing prevent defense in a way. When you throw it against all that, you have to be way precise, because the windows are so small. The windows and the lanes were really to run the ball. And we couldn't do it versus a really light box. That's the whole game. That's it.
"I thought we were further along with that than what we apparently are, so that's a major deal. We've got to get that fixed. We were behind the 8-ball the whole night because of that."
Tight end Matthew Klopfenstein said the Bears have to use their "Tell the Truth Monday" session to "get back in and figure out what went wrong and fix it going forward."
"It's important that when you're put in a situation like you were tonight, when you go against a good team, a good D-line, good defenders, that you handle business up front," he said. "We're working toward that. This is just some adversity in our way. We know going forward, we have to learn from it."
On the road for the next two, Baylor will play Kansas (2-4, 0-3) at 12 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 24, in Lawrence, Kan., before facing UCF (3-3, 1-2) the following Friday, Oct. 30, in Orlando, Fla.
"I believe in this team, I believe in the guys in that locker room," Aranda said, "and they care about winning. They care about Baylor, and it means a lot to them. So, if there's a time where, hey, you're knocked down for a little bit, I know that we're going to get right back up."
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – While quarterback DJ Lagway obviously struggled in Saturday's 17-6 loss to TCU in the Revilvary Game, completing just 41.5% of his passes, throwing a pick and getting sacked four times, Baylor coach Dave Aranda made it clear that the Bears' problems began up front.
"I think a lot of the issues we had with DJ were just lack of the run game and, really, the lack of protection at times as well," said Aranda, whose team fell to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12 after seeing its four-game winning streak snapped by the Horned Frogs (3-3, 1-2).
"It was just a tough night for him in terms of things being clean and things being where they're supposed to be, prior to any pass or any completion or any of those things."
After hitting two explosives and rushing for 244 yards in a 55-19 win over Arizona State two weeks ago, the Bears were held to a season-low 54 yards on the ground. Even with the adjusted run total that takes out the sacks, they averaged just 2.8 yards per attempt.
Against ASU, Baylor had touchdown runs of 75 yards by Caden Knighten and 63 yards by freshman Ryelan Morris. The longest run Saturday night was a nine-yard pickup in the second quarter by Morris, who fumbled two plays later.
"We have to run the ball better," Aranda said. "We've got to be more competitive up front, and we've shown we can do that, whether it's the first game of the year, to (the ASU game), to this game. So, we've got to get back to doing that.
"I think the way this offense is centered is you run the ball, you get the nickels and safeties creeping in, and then you throw the RPOs. You run the ball, you get one-on-one throws outside, and you make them. Without running, none of those things happen."
After giving up just the second first-quarter touchdown of the season, a 25-yard TD pass from Jaden Craig to Ed Small, the Baylor defense completely shut down TCU for the rest of the half. On one series, safety Micah Gifford forced a fumble that the Frogs recovered and then picked off a Craig pass on the very next play.
"That's just the grittiness of our defense," Gifford said. "That's what we really pride ourselves on, just getting in the dirt, being grimy, being tougher than most people. It doesn't matter where they are on the field, we're going to try to keep points off the board."
With TCU up 7-6 at halftime, the game essentially turned on one play. Two plays into the second quarter, Craig hit receiver Jordan Dwyer for a 67-yard hook-up and then tossed an eight-yard TD pass to tight end Ka'Morreun Pempton that made it 14-6.
At one point, Aranda said the offensive guards were swapped out, "trying to find ways to kick-start it and get it going."
"The good thing is, we've got a good amount of depth," Aranda said, "but we need a much better performance than what we had tonight. This was not acceptable."
After a wasted third quarter that saw the Bears punt twice and turn it over on a Lagway interception, Baylor put together a pair of threats that fizzled out on TCU's end of the field. On the last one, when BU got down to the 18-yard line, the offense line was flagged three times for holding and once for a false start.
"We just struggled," Aranda said. "The whole second half, they had a light box with five guys in the core. So, they're basically playing prevent defense in a way. When you throw it against all that, you have to be way precise, because the windows are so small. The windows and the lanes were really to run the ball. And we couldn't do it versus a really light box. That's the whole game. That's it.
"I thought we were further along with that than what we apparently are, so that's a major deal. We've got to get that fixed. We were behind the 8-ball the whole night because of that."
Tight end Matthew Klopfenstein said the Bears have to use their "Tell the Truth Monday" session to "get back in and figure out what went wrong and fix it going forward."
"It's important that when you're put in a situation like you were tonight, when you go against a good team, a good D-line, good defenders, that you handle business up front," he said. "We're working toward that. This is just some adversity in our way. We know going forward, we have to learn from it."
On the road for the next two, Baylor will play Kansas (2-4, 0-3) at 12 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 24, in Lawrence, Kan., before facing UCF (3-3, 1-2) the following Friday, Oct. 30, in Orlando, Fla.
"I believe in this team, I believe in the guys in that locker room," Aranda said, "and they care about winning. They care about Baylor, and it means a lot to them. So, if there's a time where, hey, you're knocked down for a little bit, I know that we're going to get right back up."
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