Everything Baylor football HC Dave Aranda said Monday ahead of major clash vs. Cincinnati

The Bears are now 4-3, but there is a big game ahead.

Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Baylor's Big 12 title aspirations are all but gone after suffering its second conference loss this past weekend to rival TCU. The Bears are now 4-3 on the year, but there is still football to be played. If Baylor hopes to get back to its winning ways, the Bears will have to forget the loss and look toward Cincinnati.

Here is everything Dave Aranda said on Monday about the loss to the Horned Frogs and lookng toward UC.

Opening statement

Guys, good to see you. Excited for this week. Really disappointed on Saturday and frustrated. Trying to use that for a big week this week and a positive. And so far so good in terms of meetings and practice. The energy was really strong. Leadership really strong this morning. So I'm proud of how we're starting to respond.

We'll see. We got to put some days together for Saturday. This is the best team we've played. You look at the film, clearly the best team. Most complete team. They don't make mistakes. They don't beat themselves. Really good offensive line, quarterback play, running back play. They've got receivers can make you miss. And defensively, they swarm to the football. They're physical. Impressed. And so it's going to take our best effort. We got to stack some wins here this week to get it done.

On blocking better

Yeah, the mental errors. I thought when you watch the film, effort-wise and pushing piles and moving bodies and all that, you could see that on film. But then in a critical moment, we got to go right and we go left. Or hey, this protection changed to this. It's unacceptable and showed up and hurt us, critical moments.

On Bryson Washington's health and his aggressive running style

So Bryson is still kind of in the same mode in terms of being day-to-day. And I haven't really told him that. I think that's one of the things that makes him special way back when he was a kid. He's got life to kind of get on the field. The flashes when he was on the field was just really violence and big playmaking ability. He's got an ability to inspire. And so the limited snaps we had with him, that was the case.

The sideline when he's running through people and falling forward and moving piles and all of it, it's contagious. And so that's something I think special. I think our depth in that room is building. I feel really good about Mike Turner. And one of the few positives from this game that we played was Mike Turner's play and his ability to kind of spark the run game there in the second half. So I think there's a lot to build off of there.

What a win vs. UC would mean for the program and fans

Yeah, I think everyone wants to win. And I think everyone's really hungry for a win. And when you win a little, you want to win a lot. And so I think that's totally where everybody's at. I think there's talent on this team. There's a really strong care factor with this team. We got to put it together. And we're going to need to do that to get a win Saturday.

On the balance on not beating the defense down, but getting message across

Yeah, it's a good question. That's totally the thing right now. And I think there's positive stuff. I think you look at the first 20, 25, 28 plays of this game that we just played, about as good as we played. And we get a negative play. And then we, here we go again, type of thing. And then it takes us too long to kind of snap back out of it.

You look at the first and fourth quarters, the issue with the second and the third. And so we got to keep fighting the good fight there and keep showing the positive things of where, hey, this was not good enough. We addressed it. We fixed it. This is it now. Now let's point our attention somewhere else and kind of do the same thing. Keep building up. I think the guys can see it. I know they can. And so we got to keep working to get there.

On Baylor needing 15-20 yard runs to open things up

In a big way, we do. Yeah, I think that's one of the things that's missing. You know, last year when you did that, there was always a level of, just naturally, I imagine as fans, they have just a level of angst when the game starts. Hey, how's this going to go? What's it going to be? And you have these runs that kind of settles everybody down. I was like, okay, here we go. And we're missing those right now. Now we've been able to get a few four or five yard runs, which are always good to have and to move the chains and put third down and a better fourth down and all that. But we need those explosive runs.

On UC QB Brendan Sorsby

Yeah, he's a really good runner. There's intentional runs for him on third down. And when he get into the goal or red zone, rather, goal line two, he's a good player. You know, we've got examples of him running over linebackers and D linemen, running backs running over D linemen, physical team, downhill team. There's not a bunch of like third and longs. There's not a bunch of third and shorts. You know, they're not really getting the third down because they're so efficient. And so they're on a different level from a lot of teams we've played so far.

Getting pressure on Sorsby and playing against the Bearcats' O-line

Yeah, I think you have to kind of look at what the quarterback likes and doesn't like. I think you have to look at how that matches up with stopping the run because the run is going to be embedded into everything, whether it's a run on third and long, or it's a quarterback scramble or a quarterback designed run. And so they do a really good job of, they chip protect on the outside with their tackle, with tight ends and running backs help their tackles. But then just the facet of the run games in there at any moment kind of peels back on pressure. So I think we had to look at see what the quarterback doesn't like and then find our opportunities to pressure within that.

How Keaton Thomas has adapted with two starting LBs out

KT has played Mack and Rover and Rover and Mack and now back to Rover with all of the injuries and then just trying to find the best spots. And so I give him a lot of credit because it's been, like it's been for all of us, frustrating to this point and it's been frustrating for him. He is always focused on what's next. He's always focused on what I can do to get the team better. He's focused on how can I improve in this space. And so it's, man, what a credit to his parents. And just, I mean, I have to remind myself of that, you know, of those things when the stuff gets tough, but he's always that way. And the guys see it and they get strength from him in the middle of that.

On RB Michael Turner

Confidence. He has it kind of built in. You know, I think when he came here, he has that natural confidence. For him, it's no big deal to get out there and do what he does. It's just Saturday morning, man, you know? And so that's a good thing. I think that's contagious too. And so his ability to move some of those piles and get some of those timely runs, there's a couple third downs and short yardage things in there where he was able to move the pile. It's a six-man box and there's an unblocked guy and he runs through the guy or makes the guy miss. It's very timely. And so we're looking to get even more improved play from him.

On Ashtyn Hawkins' big day against TCU

I think it's important that our best players play their best. And, you know, I think we're a unique team that we've got really a core group of just guys that give their all and are all-in and are good players. And then we've got a level of guys that are just, when they're on, can take over a game. And when they're on, can be the finalists for all the things. And we've got to get those guys, I've got to get those guys to play their best when it matters most. And so it was good to see Ashtyn do that. We need him, this last stretch, we need him to be Ashtyn.

Did TCU do anything special to limit Michael Trigg

No, no. I think, you know, it took Trigg probably to about the third quarter to really kind of get a rhythm and to get going. You know, there's a lot of zone, a lot of three deep. And so if it's three deep, they play buzz, weak side buzz. And so the safety would drop in the core. He was kind of the one linebacker in the core. And the outside backer pushed outside the box. So it would look like there's nobody in the box and the safety would drop in. There'd be an outside backer that was a curl flat defender in the third corner.

And so the seams in there are pretty big. And we tried to hit the seams to Trigg all game long. And there's one where he went off his hands. There's another one where I think there's kind of a ref somewhere in there. And then finally, right, there's the big one at the end of the game. And we've been trying to get that the entire game. And so we've got to be able to get those sooner rather than later for this team to be as best.

On Cincinnati's personnel being better than what it was two years ago

Yeah, I think the guys that they've got back from last year have improved. And then I think a couple of their additions have really hit. The running back room is really talented. Tight end room is really talented. Receiver room, talented. And so they were able to go in the portal and get some guys that are playing considerable time for them right now.

Getting the defense corrected as a defensive-minded coach

Yeah, it's frustrating. I wish it'd be way better. It really needs to be, you know, I hate that offensively almost has to play perfect, you know. And so you just got to keep at it. And it's just so there's so much stuff that can be, if you put it on the box, you know, the box would be labeled outside and you just have to put it on the outside and focus on what you can control and what's right in front of you to try to get better. But it takes a disciplined approach to do that. And sometimes that's hard.

More From Baylor On SI:

• Baylor faces No. 21 Cincinnati’s explosive offense led by Brendan Sorsby
• Stock up, stock down after Baylor football's loss to TCU
• Has Baylor’s Michael Trigg been overhyped as college football’s top tight end?
• Top players from Baylor's disappointing loss to TCU
• With 3 defeats, is a once promising season for Baylor lost under Dave Aranda?