A 41-point win that annoyed the coach
Baylor beat Prairie View A&M 44-3 last Saturday and Dave Aranda spent the week talking about everything that went wrong in it. Nine penalties for 85 yards. Three turnovers. Against an FCS opponent, in a game that was decided by halftime.
“Right now, it’s too easy to beat us, with the penalties and the turnovers,” Aranda said. “We need to clean that up.”
The Bears are 1-1 and host Louisiana Tech on Saturday in Waco. It is the last nonconference game before Big 12 play, which is the real reason the mistakes bother him. Sloppy against Prairie View is survivable. Sloppy in October is not.
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Lagway edges back
DJ Lagway sat out the Prairie View game with a lower leg injury picked up in the season opener against Auburn. Aranda said on Monday that the quarterback came through Sunday’s practice feeling good and was expected to work through the week, which is the closest thing to encouragement Baylor have had on the subject.
Nate Bennett handled the fill-in job and threw three touchdowns with two interceptions in his first start. Useful, and also a reminder of why Aranda wants his starter healthy before conference games arrive.
Baylor will not get defensive tackle Devonte Tezino back at all. He suffered a serious leg injury on Saturday and is done for the season.
Louisiana Tech arrive with a defence that travels
The Bulldogs lost 45-14 at then-No. 8 LSU and the scoreline hides how the first half went. Louisiana Tech forced four turnovers before the break and trailed only 10-7, with Jordan McRae returning an interception 100 yards for a touchdown. Then the offence stalled completely. The final total was 139 yards.
“We just didn’t play enough offense,” said coach Sonny Cumbie.
Jalen Mickens was the exception, catching six passes for 101 yards including a 67-yard score. Through two games he has nine receptions for 234 yards and two touchdowns. The Bulldogs defence has also recorded at least 10 tackles for loss in both outings, with Alonzo Jackson Jr. accounting for five of them and three sacks.
Baylor lead the all-time series 5-1, though the two programmes have not met since 1996. Aranda and Cumbie go back further than that anyway: Aranda was a graduate assistant at Texas Tech from 2000 to 2002, when Cumbie was throwing passes for the Red Raiders.
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