Three Takeaways: November 13
11/13/2023 4:58:00 PM | Football
Bluebonnet Battle Gives Bears Something to Play For
Baylor Bear Insider Jerry Hill gives his three takeaways from Monday's weekly press conference with head coach Dave Aranda talking about the Bears' 59-24 road loss at Kansas State and Saturday's matchup between Baylor (3-7, 2-5) and TCU (4-6, 2-5), which kicks off at 2: p.m. at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth and will be streamed on ESPN+:
- SOMETHING TO PLAY FOR: Drumroll, please. The Bluebonnet Bowl is now the official name for the annual Baylor-TCU football matchup, which was preserved by the Big 12 Conference as one of four rivalry games to be played each year. Baylor-TCU joins Arizona-Arizona State, BYU-Utah and Kansas-Kansas State as conference rivalry games that will be played for the next four seasons, 2024-27. The naming of the game was a monthslong process between the student governments of the two schools, with a 45-pound trophy handed out annually. With the 119th meeting on Saturday in Fort Worth, Baylor-TCU becomes the longest-standing college football rivalry in the state, surpassing Texas-Texas A&M. "You could look at it from our lens of not having a great year, and you're looking for ways to kind of get something extra out of a thing," Aranda said. "This is a way to do that. It means something, it means a lot, so I'm appreciative of that and excited for it. And the name (The Bluebonnet Battle), I can understand why. I think it's a beautiful kind of view when you think of all of that, because I'm on (I-35) and can see all of it. It's just interesting when it's mixed with football, though."
- FUTURE'S BRIGHT: Redshirt freshman receiver Armani Winfield became Baylor's 25th first-time starter this season, including eight true or redshirt freshman. By comparison, the Bears had six combined first-time starters in 2021 and nine last year. "We've been playing some young guys, the majority of them throughout the whole season," Aranda said. "Then, there's a few others that would still like to redshirt. They're going to be playing their fourth game, so this will be their last game for them this year. So, trying to balance that of the guys that we've taken their year and then the guys that we're trying to save their year. We're kind of at that point right now. But I feel good about the youth and the production. Looking at next year, there will be a bunch of guys that have played and contributed and learned the lessons that you need to learn to be able to play good football here."
- WORLD OF TEMPO: While Kansas State is not usually a fast-tempo team on offense, the Wildcats played tempo on Saturday "because we've struggled with tempo," Aranda said. But tempo is definitely TCU's modus operandi. The Horned Frogs are "the fastest team that we've played up to this point, in terms of time left on the clock" when they snap the ball. "We're going into the world of tempo, so we have to be better. We've got to get it to where we're lined up, our cleats are in the grass, where we're in position to execute and play in all of it." The defense's biggest chore will be containing running back Emani Bailey, who's already topped 1,000 yards for the season and ranks top-20 nationally. "The running back is a dynamic guy," Aranda said, "and he can make people miss and bounce off would-be tacklers and take it all the way."
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