Five Keys to Saturday's Game
9/12/2025 4:40:00 PM | Football
Bears need to clean up their mistakes and dominate up front
BAYLOR (1-1) vs. SAMFORD (0-2)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
- FIX THE MISTAKES: In both the 38-24 season-opening loss to Auburn and last week's 48-45, double-overtime win at SMU, the Bears had some "ugly film" to watch and plenty of mistakes to fix. "The margin between winning and losing is so small," said senior safety and special teamer Michael Allen. "That game (against SMU) could have gone many different ways. But it's obviously a lot better to be on the winning side of that. We also understand that we did not play anywhere near our best. So, you enjoy it, and then you've got to reset and say, 'All right, we're back to work.' We have a lot of things that we can improve on and we need to put on display on Saturday."
- DON'T LOOK AHEAD: Sandwiched between a ranked win on the road and next week's conference opener against defending champion Arizona State, Baylor gets a winless FCS-level Samford team that has been outscored 74-16. The Bulldogs have had success throwing the ball, averaging over 300 yards passing per game, but they're averaging just 57.0 yards on the ground and have had six turnovers. "There have been a couple examples in college football this year of it," Baylor coach Dave Aranda said of FCS teams pulling off upsets of FBS programs. "You have to respect everybody you play."
- DOMINATE UP FRONT: That's probably the biggest difference between FBS and FCS programs is the size and talent in both the offensive and defensive lines. After some struggles the first two weeks, the offensive line needs to come out and dominate and establish a running game early and often. "Right now, we're focusing on really good double teams," right tackle Kaden Sieracki said. "That's been an emphasis of Coach (Mason) Miller and Coach (Craig) Watts. We've been doing that in our drill work, and that's going to be pretty crucial to make an impact in the run game."
- KEEP IT ROLLING: The reigning AP National Player of the Week, quarterback Sawyer Robertson has thrown for 859 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. And he's spread the wealth, with four different receivers recording double-digit catches through the first two games. "I'm so proud of him," Aranda said. "He won our little personal (team) award this morning, and the team was really happy for him. He's someone that everyone recognizes has kind of been through it. When guys are in the low parts of whatever, how they handle that, it makes you want to root for them when they're ascending. And I feel like everyone kind of feels that way with him."
- WHAT'S UP, COACH: While Aranda remembers going up against Samford head coach Chris Hatcher when he was at Valdosta State (and Aranda was the DC at Delta State), Baylor O-line coach Mason Miller and Hatcher go back even further. Miller played fullback, and Hatcher was a two-time All-American quarterback for Valdosta State under Hal Mumme, both learning the "Air Raid" attack. "They've played some big schools really well in the past," Aranda said. "They come out all guns a firing. There are gadgets and tricks and reverses and fakes, so there's a lot to prepare for."
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