4 Immediate Takeaways after Baylor's Win Over Colorado to Open Big 12 Play
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DJ Lagway returns and helps the Bears extend to a three-game win streak in a 23-13 win over Colorado, but this game was far from what Baylor fans were hoping for in the last game of the home stand.
Baylor (3-1) kicked off Big 12 play against the Buffaloes (2-2) and took a victory in spite of a slow offense helmed by Lagway, who clearly is still nursing the ankle injury from Week 1. Here are four takeaways from the game:
The D-line looked like the strongest unit again.
At times, the pass coverage from the secondary was very spotty, allowing some wide-open receptions for double-digit gains. The defensive line was the cornerstone for the defense yet again.
They struggled against the Colorado run game early. After finding some rhythm, they were constantly applying pressure that should have resulted in multiple interceptions but still logged four sacks and a fumble recovery.
A far cry from a "clean game"
Head coach Dave Aranda has expressed how he has been in search of a "cleaner game" from his team ever since Week 1.
He didn't find it against Colorado, where the offense had six penalties, went 6-17 on third downs while Lagway completed passes below a 50 percent clip. The game was tied at 13-13 late in the game.
The offense just couldn't find a groove; they were helped by good punt returns from Jayden McGowan and penalties from the Buffaloes defense. Colorado had a much more productive offensive game than the Bears did, out-passing them 20 yards to 221.
The ground game is not much of a threat
"I think [Pendergrass] is going to show more when offensively we can play without committing a penalty," Aranda said. "Because now you're talking there's seven, eight, nine, ten play drives, where I think that's where Dawson shines the best."
Penalties and short drives certainly hindered the run game. The Bears tried to run the ball outside with Dawson Pendergrass and Caden Knighten but never got the run game going, and it is mostly due to an inexperienced O-line.
Pendergrass really got rolling in the fourth quarter, but the unit was averaging just 2 yards a carry on 44+ attempts for the bulk of the game.
Lagway's decision-making is scary right now
Not scary in a good way. His interception was completely unjustified. He was facing pressure and decided to throw off balance to a covered man 40 yards down the field. It was obviously underthrown, and it was an easy pick for Colorado.
He has to know the situation; it's the last drive of the half, and instead of tucking the ball or throwing a closer pass, he gives the Buffs ideal field position to get points at the buzzer. He didn't play with the same confidence he played with against Auburn.
Lagway also refused to run the ball, which puts extra pressure on a struggling offensive line to perform, so when the pocket would collapse, Lagway would tend to underthrow his receiver.
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Bennett is an undergrad student at Baylor University, studying journalism on the sports track. He is from the DFW area and grew up playing and watching sports, which inspired him to pursue sports writing.
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