Waco, TX—After three previous postponements to begin 2020, the Baylor Bears (1-0, 1-0 Big 12) used a 40-0 run to overpower the Kansas Jayhawks (0-2, 0-1 Big 12) 47-14 in Dave Aranda’s first game ever as a head coach. Aranda was presented the game ball in the locker room after the victory.
”It means a lot, I feel like I belong here,” Aranda said in the press conference afterwards, “I feel like I belong here, feel a really strong brotherhood with people that care. It’s special.” He added, “I feel awfully blessed to have this opportunity” and thanked everybody involved in assisting in making this game happen.
Other than that the pragmatic coach calmly answered the questions and handled the oozing praise that many reporters waited their turn to anxiously give on the Zoom video press conference as Baylor executed near flawlessly in all three aspects of the game.
However, the game could not have had a more auspicious start for Aranda and the Bears. On Kansas’ opening drive of the game, defensive lineman T.J. Franklin roughed Jayhawk quarterback Jalon Daniels which turned a Kansas third down stop into a first down. Later on the drive, running back Pooka Williams would gallop 21 yards untouched into the end zone for the opening score. Williams would finish with both Kansas touchdowns and a team high 76 rush yards on 14 carries (5.4/carry).
When Baylor’s offense took to the field, a holding penalty turned a first down into a third and long that the Bears would ultimately fail to convert. Adversity hit the Bears—like it had for many other top college football favorites—immediately. Baylor had eight first half penalties for 95 yards; four were personal fouls and two extended Jayhawk drives. One of the personal fouls was an early targeting on safety Christian Morgan, which came with an ejection.
Coach Aranda was proud of how his team—who had no second half penalties—responded to adversity saying Baylor “addressed those things and corrected them. I’m proud of that, character is gonna come through... fighting through adversity, the right way, on the grass.”
Boy did Baylor fight. After falling behind 7-0 three and half minutes into the game, they reeled off a 40-0 run scoring in every single way imaginable: pass, run and return TDs; a field goal and a safety.
The first was a one yard touchdown run for Trestan Ebner—that was only an appetizer of what would be to come. Ebner became the first Baylor player ever to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game; he is the first Big 12 player to ever have a rushing, recieving and two return touchdowns in a single game.
By the end of the night, Ebner tallied 272 all purpose yards with four touchdowns. He opened the second half with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and had an 83-yard kick return touchdown in the fourth quarter after Terrel Bernard secured a safety. For Ebner, it was wel worth the wait.
“We had to wait a long time,” said Ebner afterwards, “[we] put in a lot of work, and I’m thankful for the outcome...for my blockers... [coaches] tell you one cut and get downhill... Just tried to get to green grass.”
Aranda commented that he saw Ebner’s speed and skills on tape before, but “to see it out on the grass was pretty cool to see...it propelled our team.”
John Lovett, Ebner’s counterpart at running back and a fellow single digit, had a game high 17 carries and 78 rushing yards and a score. Lovett also had 25 return yards, putting him over 100 total yards as well. Lovett and Ebner had 375 total yards more than the entire offensive output for Kansas (328).
Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer finished 15-of-23 for 142 yards passing and a touchdown. He had to leave the game for a couple plays in the first half due to a bruise on his quad before returning.
Coach Aranda mentioned, “[Brewer was] struggling to put pressure on his leg...it was an uplifting moment to get him back; our guys were really worried [when he went out].”
With the defense flying around, Baylor did not need much breathing room. The Bears were attacking from all fronts, dialing up different blitzes and disguised schemes all evening. Baylor had 10 tackles for loss (29 yards) and four sacks (15). Bernard had a game high eight tackels (six solo), 3.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks. Franklin and William Bradley-King also had sacks with one and 0.5 respectively. Jalen Pitre had seven tackels with two TFL.
With so much build up for the team to even play a game, the reduced stadium capacity did not deture the players from creating their own momentum.
Bernard said, “[we] felt that our crowd was great all night... with wanting to play so bad we were just feeding off each other.”
The Bears will get back to work with a trip to Morgantown, West Virginia, up next. However, they seem to thrive on flying under the radar and are anxious to create even more chemistry in order to stay in the ebb and flow of the season.
They seem to be just getting started, and they are loving it.
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September 27, 2020 at 12:11PM
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Baylor is in the Ebb and Flow; and They Love’tt - 247Sports
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