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It’s another historic weekend for the UCF Knights (3-1, 0-1 Big 12), as they play their first home game against a Big 12 Conference opponent.
That opponent is someone vaguely familiar from a historic UCF moment in the past: The Baylor Bears (1-3, 0-1 Big 12).
Here we go:
Week 4: Baylor Bears
Kickoff: Saturday, September 30, 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: FBC Mortgage Stadium
TV: FS1 — Eric Collins (PxP) and Devin Gardner (analyst). Same crew as in the Kent State, Boise State, and Kansas State games
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game — Marc Daniels (PxP), Gary Parris (analyst) and Scott Adams (sideline)
History
Series: UCF leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: 2013 — UCF 52, Baylor 42 in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl
Ah yes. Let’s enjoy that one more time:
About the Bears
Last Season: 6-7, 4-4 in the Big 12. The Bears started 6-3, but dropped their last three regular season games to ranked opponents (#19 K-State, #4 TCU, and #23 Texas), and then lost to Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl
This Season: 1-3, 0-1 in the Big 12. The Bears opened with a loss to Texas State, and their only win was against FCS Long Island.
Last Week: Lost to #3 Texas at home, 38-6
Last Big 12 Championship: 2021
Baylor Team Stats 2023
| Category | Offense | Big 12 Rank | FBS Rank | Defense | Big 12 Rank | FBS Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Offense | Big 12 Rank | FBS Rank | Defense | Big 12 Rank | FBS Rank |
| Rush Yards | 139.8 | 10th | 85th | 171.2 | Last | 104th |
| Pass Yards | 265.0 | 8th | 46th | 204.8 | 7th | 49th |
| Total Yards | 404.8 | 9th | 61st | 376.0 | 12th | 78th |
| Points | 20.0 | Last | 114th | 26.8 | Last | 82nd |
- Baylor won 10+ games in four of eight seasons under Art Briles (including an 11-2 mark the year they lost to UCF).
- But since Briles’ firing after a horrendous sexual assault scandal in 2015, the Bears have been through three coaches (including former Temple coach Matt Rhule) and recorded only two 10-win seasons since.
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Head Coach
Dave Aranda
4th year | 21-19 | 2021 Big 12 Coach of the Year
Aranda came to Baylor after serving as LSU’s defensive coordinator from 2016-2019, leading the Tigers’ defense in their 15-0 national championship season. He then took Baylor to the Big 12 title in his second season.
Aranda is known as a defensive whiz. Although reports say he runs a 3-4, that’s really a misnomer. His main obsession has been finding ways to stop spread offenses (He even has a coaching video series on that very subject) by employing a more or less position-less defensive scheme that emphasizes speed. Prior to LSU, Aranda coached Wisconsin’s defense to three consecutive seasons in the FBS top-10 in total defense.
Key Players
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Offense: RB Richard Reese
5-9 182 lbs. | Sophomore
Reese was a preseason all-Big 12 selection but has gotten off to a rough start. He’s third on the team in rushing with 125 and 2 TDs so far, after 972 yards and 14 TDs last year.
Last week vs. #3 Texas: 3 carries, 8 yards. Baylor rushed for only 60 yards on 31 carries as a team last week.
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Defense: LB Matt Jones
6-3 246-lb. | Senior
Jones is another ballhawk, and an experienced one at that, in his fifth season in Waco. He was third on the team in tackles last year (62) and leads the Bears this season with 25 tackles and two sacks.
Last Week vs. #3 Texas: 8 tackles (7 solo), two sacks
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