Dave Aranda walked into his postgame press conference radiating with pride. “There’s a lot of happy faces and it’s really good to see. I told them that I love this team.”
Baylor’s locker room finally had reason to smile after surviving a 35–34 thriller over Kansas State. It was a game Aranda said revealed the heart of his program. “A bunch of the leaders of this team are from that three-and-nine team,” he said. “They’ve been those guys who were passed up. There’s a resiliency with those guys of, ‘Hey, I’m not going to be defined by somebody else.’ ”
Quarterback Sawyer Robertson delivered his best outing in green and gold, completing 25 of 39 for 345 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Michael Trigg was unstoppable witheight catches for 155 yards. “We get exposed to that every time we compete versus our own offense,” Aranda smiled. “He always does that to us, so it’s good to see him do that to somebody else. He’s a mismatch.”
Keepin' it Rolling.#SicEm pic.twitter.com/4yx6cxUoZ4
— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) October 4, 2025
Bryson Washington added 65 yards on the ground, while Michael Turner scored on a 17-yard run. But the defense flipped the game when Jacob Redding jumped a route for a pick-six. “Jacob started last year as a scout guy,” Aranda said. “He’s got a really strong care factor, really hard work, leadership, empathy, you wish you had 11 of him.”
On the final play of the game, Cooper Lanz sealed it with a blocked field goal. “Coop has played multiple positions and done whatever we’ve asked,” Aranda said. “There’s just a toughness that comes with him…we’re a much better team with Coop.”
Asked what the win meant going into the bye, Aranda paused. “We’ve been in games like this already. They’re not pretty games. I wish they looked better, but we needed a win, and we’ll take it.”
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