Baylor must go from a “heart-wrenching loss,” according to coach Dave Aranda, at Colorado last week to facing unbeaten and No. 22-ranked BYU in Waco, Texas, on Saturday.
The Bears (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) lost 38-31 in overtime to Colorado after Shedeur Sanders connected with LaJohntay Wester on a 43-yard Hail Mary pass on the last play of regulation.
“When you’re cut wide open, you sit down, you bleed a little bit, and it’s important to rise up and fight again,” Aranda said Monday. “(Monday at practice) was that day for us. I think so far, so good.”
BYU (4-0, 1-0) is coming off a 38-9 win at Provo, Utah, against then-No. 13 Kansas State last week. The victory was the largest for the Cougars over a top-15 team since a 26-6 win over No. 14 Arizona State in the 1998 season.
BYU’s Kalani Sitake is at least 4-0 for the third time since he became the Cougars’ head coach in 2016. The Cougars started 4-0 under Sitake in 2020 and 2021.
“I think we showed that we can play,” Sitake said of the big win over Kansas State. “The question was, ‘What kind of team is this?’ I think there are a lot of unknowns. Maybe people know a little bit more now.
“We aren’t going to surprise anyone anymore, so we need to get ready for this next game against Baylor, keep working and being humble. That’s going to be our key.”
Sitake said reserve Sione I. Moa, a former preferred walk-on, also must stay humble after the running back gained 76 yards on 15 carries against Kansas State.
Starting running back LJ Martin, who did not play last week because of an ankle injury, will not suit up against Baylor. Second-string running back Hinckley Ropati is doubtful because of a knee injury he suffered at SMU on Sept. 6.
“He’s a great player, and we’re excited about what he’s doing,” Sitake said of Moa. “He’s got some improvement to make. That’s what we’re going to focus on.”
Sitake then told the media on Monday, “Stop blowing his head up. We’ve got to keep him humble and keep him hungry.”
Aranda said of his team coming off the loss to Colorado: “I feel the overall sense of urgency to get it right. We’ve got a great opponent in BYU, looking ahead, to really challenge us and bring out the best in us.”
One positive for Baylor from the Colorado game is Sanders was sacked eight times, the Bears’ most since tallying 10 in the Sugar Bowl victory over Ole Miss in the 2021 season.
Baylor senior linebacker Matt Jones ended with 10 total tackles Saturday, with a career-high nine solo — his third consecutive double-digit tackle game.
This Saturday’s game is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Central time, 10 a.m. Mountain time (where BYU is located). Last season, BYU was 0-5 in games that started in the morning or early afternoon before 1:30 p.m. local time.
Sitake said he would not change BYU’s practice time to match the start of Saturday’s game.
“We’ve already got our classes in the morning; we’re an afternoon practice team,” he said. “We’ll adjust a couple of other things, meeting times, things like that. But we’ve been in this situation before.”
