Instant Takeaways From Baylor's Ugly Loss to TCU
In this story:
Baylor failed to ride the momentum of a four-game win streak, scoring zero second-half points and dropping a long-awaited home game to TCU in the Revivalry.
Aranda is 1-6 against the Horned Frogs as the Bears fall to 4-2 without scoring a touchdown. Here are takeaways:
Lagway hasn't arrived yet
It was an ugly game for DJ Lagway. He was static in the pocket, only moving when he was forced out. His receivers might not have gotten enough separation, but Lagway only completed passes at a 35 percent clip.
Many thought the Florida transfer was the truth after his strong performance against ASU, but Lagway had lost the trust of his playcallers by the fourth quarter against TCU. The confidence he had in Arizona disappeared.
Some of his best deep balls of the night were dropped in the end zone by sophomore Jadon Porter. Nevertheless, Lagway was booed off the field with 7:21 to play.
D-line kept the Bears in striking distance
The defensive line stepped up again.
Baylor got on the board with a field goal and then immediately sent the blitz, logging their first two sacks of the game and firing up the crowd. The negative plays helped Baylor get their best starting field position but only got three points to show for it.
On the next possession, the Frogs tried to get fancy with a flea-flicker, but pressure from the line forced a bad throw and easy interception for junior safety Micah Gifford. Two plays later, Baylor gave it right back with a giveaway of their own.
The D-line wasn't done for the half, notching another sack and keeping TCU out of position for a last-second field goal. The unit held TCU to one rush yard on 12 attempts in the first half.
Their strong play continued, keeping Baylor in the game until the end. Unfortunately, the offense never got going.
There is a variety of other offensive issues
Lagway was the hardest watch, but the offense as a whole struggled badly.
Early in the game, the offensive line was struggling to keep the pocket intact while the running game was held to less than 10 yards well into the second quarter. TCU had a talented D-line as well, and it posed issues for the run game that never truly got established.
The playcalling wasn't anything special this game either. The Bears didn't use the middle of the field enough and tried to force a ton of downfield fade passes on the sidelines. On the few red zone trips, no one got open enough for a target from Lagway.
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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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