Baylor Bear Insider Jerry Hill gives his three takeaways from Monday's weekly press conference with head coach Dave Aranda talking about the 27-14 upset of 4^th-ranked Oklahoma and this week's matchup between the No. 11 Bears (8-2, 5-2) and Kansas State (7-3, 4-3), which kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Manhattan, Kan., in a game that will be broadcast by FS1: 

1. D-LINE WORKING AS UNIT: Just a week after struggling to contain TCU quarterback Chandler Morris, the Baylor defense sacked OU quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Spencer Rattler five times. And while junior defensive end TJ Franklin was the only defensive lineman that recorded a sack, Aranda said the D-line brought the energy and worked together as one unit. "I think the defensive line and their pass rush, the energy they brought and their ability to execute and have awareness with the four-man pass rush working as a unit," Aranda said, "Not four guys working as independent contractors, but someone pushing the A gap, someone containing the edge, and using their partner as an aide in their own endeavor, was a huge step in the right direction. Still room for improvement there, but happy with the additions we made to that area of our game."
2. CREATING YOUR OWN ENERGY: A perfect 6-0 this season at McLane Stadium, with ranked wins over Iowa State, BYU and Oklahoma, the Bears have to be able to create their own energy on the road. The Bears are 2-2 on the road and have lost two-straight to Oklahoma State, 24-14, and TCU, 30-28. "One thing that we have tried to establish and have not been as successful in as I'd like is that the energy is not necessarily something you catch, it's something that you create," Aranda said. "When you catch it, it can be good and it can also not be good. . . . If it's a game, and there's not a bunch of people cheering for you, or there's not that kind of electric current praising your name, then you will be down. I think leaving yourself open to praise and criticism from the outside is limiting. So, it is a fight to get it coming from the inside out. One of the reasons why we don't play a ton of music during practice is so that we can create our own (energy) – an awareness of where we've been, what we've done, where we can improve and what this moment means. I think it is huge I that respect. Being really intentional about the practices and how they add up to a successful Saturday is everything."
3. ANOTHER TEST TO PASS: Because of COVID, a freshman redshirt season and injuries, K-State quarterback Skylar Thompson has been around since 2016. While he's not the running threat he was early in his career, he has put together the best passing stretch of his career in the last six games, completing 114-of-158 passes (72.2%) for 1,456 yards and nine touchdowns with two interceptions. Going into Saturday's game, Thompson ranks sixth nationally in passing yards per attempt (9.64) and completion percentage (71.6%). "I think he's a better thrower than he was prior (to his injuries). He's sitting in the pocket more and going through progressions, threading needles and all that," Aranda said, "finding dead areas in zones and taking advantage. Defensively, they switched to 3-3-5, so very similar to Iowa State. They're keeping throws in front of them. D-line-wise, they're causing a lot of havoc. . . . What we've gone through before has given us the ability to pass this test, but it's certainly a test."