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Baylor football coach Dave Aranda watched two potential victories slip away in Boulder, Colorado and at Waco. Then following a 22-point drubbing against Iowa State on October 5, his coaching seat cranked up in temperature.
Aranda and the Baylor Bears since then have launched the process of saving their season. Baylor is riding a two-game winning streak. But Saturday sparked a strong declaration from the coaching leader following their 38-28 victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
“It's a big thing for the confidence of our players,” Aranda said via Craig Smoak of SicEm365.
That's not all from Aranda. He's noticed a far different Baylor team compared to the one from September 21.
“We're just a completely different team now and I think that was evident,” Aranda said.
Both the Cowboys and Bears broke out of an early scoring slump in the first. They turned a 3-3 first quarter tie into a 17-17 halftime score. Aranda's crew, however, outscored Oklahoma State 21-11 in the second half to pull away.
Baylor's victory even came on an afternoon Dawson Pendergrass was the top rusher with only six carries. But he rumbled to 142 yards. Bears quarterback Sawyer Robinson added 11-of-19 throwing for 222 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Aranda's words postgame points to a Baylor football team now oozing with confidence the last two weeks.
What's been different the last 2 games for Dave Aranda and Baylor football?
There's a multitude of reasons behind Baylor football's turnaround.
The defense, Aranda's area of expertise, has dropped the final point totals from that Iowa State game. They surrendered 35 in the 24-point rout of Texas Tech, then allowed 28 in the win over Oklahoma State.
Robertson is playing like a dynamic quarterback. He's combined for eight total aerial touchdowns during the streak. That includes the five he tossed against the Red Raiders.
Baylor additionally has witnessed the ground game rise up. Bryson Washington finished as last week's leading rusher with 116 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns. Saturday in Waco belonged to Pendergrass.
Most important of all, Baylor hasn't lost its edge in the fourth quarter in two of its last four games.
Baylor got outscored 21-7 against Colorado in both the fourth quarter and overtime. Iowa State pulled away in significant fashion in the Cyclones' win — outscoring Baylor 24-7 after taking a 19-14 lead into halftime.
Aranda's crew has looked stronger in the second half during the consecutive victories. The Bears erupted for 28 total second half points to seal the romp of the Red Raiders. Now, they dropped 21 in the final two quarters to knock off the Cowboys.
Once 2-4 and staring at a potential firing, Aranda has Baylor very much in bowl contention. Texas Christian is next up, but the Horned Frogs are the only opponent with a winning record left on the Bears' schedule. The next three after — West Virginia, Houston, and Kansas — are all sub .500 including the latter two at 2-5.
The fifth-year head coach watched victory slip away in heartbreaking fashion earlier in October. The criticism grew immediately after. Now, Aranda has noticed a far different Bears team than that defeated bunch he had to console and motivate after two narrow losses.
