Everything Baylor coach Dave Aranda said ahead of the Utah showdown

Following the bye week, Baylor football is back in action this weekend. The Bears will host one of the top teams in the Big 12, when Utah comes to town.

Baylor head coach Dave Aranda met with the media on Monday and previewed the game. Here is everything Aranda had to say.

On the reports of Mack Rhoades being a distraction to the team

That's above my pay grade. Team's in a good spot. You know, energy-wise was really good. And focus-wise was good. Got big tests ahead of us. It's going to take our best to put up a challenge and get a win. I think they all recognize that. So we're excited for that.

Yeah, Mack and I have always had a good relationship. We've always been open and have always talked. Has always had free access to say what needs to be said. I've always appreciated that. Yeah, I just think all of those questions, I understand the interest in them. Our focus is just trying to get ready to play a game. This is just a huge game for us.

This is a game we need to win. We're in an instance where similar to last year, we have to win all the rest of these games. And the focus needs to be on 1-0 today and 1-0 tomorrow and 1-0 the next day and stack those up so that we can get a 1-0 on Saturday night. And so very much for me the focus is that. And I think all of these things, as they play out, will play out however they play out. But we have to win this game, and we have to play our best. This is a team that's embarrassed a fair amount of teams, and we're not looking to be that next team.

After a complete game against UCF, would he rather keep playing than take a bye

Probably so. Probably so. I think though the energy was good today, and we talked about this too last week in the practices that we had, how important it is to start fast and to do the things that we've been really working hard to do and have failed to do up until this last one. And so I think everyone's on the same page of what the prescription is and what has to happen here these last couple games.

If he talks to the team about blocking out the outside noise

Every week. Every week. Yeah, every week we do. And it's no different now.

On Sawyer Robertson continuing to use his legs

We do, yeah. I think any time that there can be five guys out in the route, and whether it's a horizontal stretch or a vertical one, the pass rush lanes are tested when the quarterback can scramble. And we were able to, you know, the five or four yards that he gets can make it an easier third or fourth down, and that showed up in this last game.

And, you know, the team we're about to play plays a ton of man coverage, and so generally guys are going to be close together and stuck on one another, and, you know, the ability to get separation is always a challenge. And so to elongate a thing and to kind of create more time, the scrambling to throw or the scrambling to run if guys' backs are turned is always a thing.

On Utah's man coverage and what that does for Michael Trigg

Yeah, you know, for as long as I've known, you know, whether it was back when I was Coach Anderson, Gary Anderson at Utah State, and we played Utah, that was 2012, I want to say, or I think it was 2012, you know, and longer even before that. And so Gary used to be the DC at Utah, and so just man coverage, our very first day install was under one, you know, and all those Wisconsin, LSU days, as I was saying, under one was our first day install.

And so just when you live that way, you know, it's like, hey, man, I don't care who knows. I don't care what comes out. We're going to match it up, and we're going to lock guys up. And so when you're playing a team like that, it takes matchups. It takes attention to detail on splits, right? It takes timing. It takes a scrambling quarterback. There's a fair amount of things that are called to attention to be able to move the chains. And so it's a tough matchup. Not a lot of teams in our league just play man. Utah is one of them.

If Baylor might play four-man fronts

Yeah, you know, we're able to affect some of the run game with just the leverages on the perimeter, whether it be by our techniques over there or our stunts. And, you know, you try to be able to do what best matches the opponent. And so I think every week's kind of been a different setup based upon what's needed. You know, what's interesting with Utah is there's a lot of three- and four-man surfaces.

They'll play with two tight ends and more tight ends than that, you know, three tight ends at a time. And their surfaces are really big people. And they also will crack and load. So they'll crack on the outside and load up on your corner. So, like, their biggest people on our littlest people. So all that presents a challenge, you know, which is going to be different than what it was with UCF. And so we're still finalizing those things right now.

If Utah is the best running attack he's faced

It's the most unique. Just in terms of numbers, I guess. I think so, yeah. Numbers-wise, yes. It's the most unique for sure. I think they present challenges in surfaces and in angles. And then, you know, every Utah team that I've ever known has just been really physical. So this is hitting all three of those marks.

On Utah rotating RBs

They do, yeah. Yeah. A lot of quarterback run, though, too. And so I think a lot of it is set up for the quarterback to run. And so our name for it is Bash. But, you know, there'll be a running back run this way, and then there'll be a quarterback run this way. And so you've got to be really disciplined on are you on the East Coast or are you living on the West Coast and don't get them mixed up.

Does being an underdog make the team embrace an underdog mentality

I try to let them know. And, you know, I think this is a game that we need. This is a game that we have to play well in. This is a game that we've got guys that want to play at the next level and want to do all the things. They need this game. And we as a program need this game. So it's an important one.

Bryson Washington's health and the team's health

We've talked about it. Bryson is rolling with the ones, looking good. You know, it's always the bye has kind of interrupted these. It gives you kind of the anticipation that, hey, we're going to take off running from this spot on. I think that's probably the feeling right now with just how he looked this morning and even how he looked at the end of the week last week. It's certainly given us more time with some of the younger running backs to continue to hone in on them and, you know, the blitzes and everything that's going to be coming their way Saturday night. But, yeah, he's looking really good right now. That's the best he's looked.

On Michael Turner and Caden Knighten

They've been receptive. They've been – you know, there's very few things where you have to tell them more than once, and that's a huge deal. You know, protection-wise, they've been really good. You know, there's always kind of a, hey, get more grounded here or take a little bit more off there. But for the most part, more often than not, for sure, they're where they need to be, and that's the hardest thing about all of it as a freshman running back is the protection and the blitzes and the IDs and all that.

So they've done a great job there. I give a lot of credit to their coaches for that. You know, I think their ability to, you know, finish runs, be patient with runs. I think it's one of the things that B-Wash and Dawson, too, both have is the old man sense of, hey, man, just chill and be patient and let this block right out to the very last second, and then it pops. I think both of our young guys are still working through that. I think they're bouncing it out prior to when they really need to. So that was a big emphasis here this past week.

Has he ever seen a TE better than Michael Trigg, who is up for a ton of awards

Yeah, he's a matchup problem. I remember at LSU, we played Florida, and we won the game. They put too many points on us 2019 year. I forget the name of the tight end they had. It was a matchup problem, and Trigg would be similar. But I think, you know, Trigg's, you know, whereas that year particularly, he was kind of moved out. He was the X. You know, Trigg can be that. He can be inside. He can block. He can do all the things that a normal Y would do. But, you know, for sure he can really excel as a U, you know. So he can do all that. So the whole collective thing, he's the only one.

How important these final three games are

I think it's really important. Yeah, really important. I think, you know, we have choices to make. And, you know, how we show up for practice, how we show up for meetings, how we show up to whatever negativity or just any of that. And so it's like the biggest, you know, the spot that we're in right now is, man, don't succumb to feelings. Make a choice. I'm going to show up this way. I'm going to fight it this way. I'm going to be this. And so that's a day-to-day thing. That's hard to do because you can just get caught up in it, you know, noise or just whatever it is. And so that's a huge deal. I mean, our players would take that with them when they go from here. And so it's just way important.

Importance of a bowl game

I think it's pretty important. I think it's something that we need to be doing here, you know, and beyond. I think it's important to do. I think we've got the team to do it. You know, these last three games are really good teams, and they're playing really good football right now. You'd argue they're probably playing the best football this year that they've been playing, whether it's earlier in the year. And so it's a big challenge for us, but I bet on these guys and this team.

On the run defense

You know, I don't know. You know, after you draw stuff and walk through stuff and talk through stuff and do it however many times, I think the understanding or the hope is that it's finally going to sink in at some point, and, you know, it was good to see it. Guys were playing fast, I thought, and guys were playing kind of free, and we're going to need that in this one.

You know, I think what we saw with the UCF is very challenging on angles and plus one run game, and it's kind of a prelude to what's coming here with Utah. And so I think they're very creative. There's not a lot of teams that have their run game, and they might be one of one, you know. And so teams have struggled with it. You know, we've been given an extra week to kind of get ready for it, and so that needs to pay dividends here.