'New Wineskins': How Baylor's Dave Aranda Looks To Repeat As Big 12 Champs
Why believe in Baylor football? It's a question many pondered going into Year 2 of the Dave Aranda era and later regretted.
Baylor finished with its first 12-win season in 2021. The Bears also handled their business against No. 7 Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl, proving their defense will go toe-to-toe with anyone in the nation. On top of that, Baylor enters the season as the Big 12 favorites.
Of course, everything in life has a catch. The Bears lost marquee names on both sides, including All-American safety Jalen Pitre and All-Big 12 running back Abram Smith. They're also are starting fresh at quarterback, electing to give the starting nod to Big 12 Championship hero Blake Shapen over Gerry Bohanon.
Most teams would be weary of change. Aranda isn't like most coaches in any sort of statement. So far, he's been pleased with how the returning veterans are setting the tone for a new era of football.
“The enthusiasm when you start is going to be there,” Aranda said. “It’s mixed in with some wisdom and maybe some expectation, and we’re awfully grateful there’s some high standard in there too. It’s been a good mix that way. There was energy from start to finish. We were flying through stuff and executing stuff. For the first day, it was really good.”
Which Aranda will Bears fans see in 2022? It's hard to think Baylor will regress back to its 2-7 record even if it doesn't make the return to Arlington this winter.
Aranda, hired away from LSU following its national title run in 2019, was forced to deal with transfers leaving following Matt Rhule's departure for the pros. By the time he acclimated himself to the school's culture, the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Limited time, limited reps, limited wins. That was the case for 2020 for Aranda. One offseason later, players have seen the benefits of a productive offseason.
"We didn’t have any hiccups like we did in COVID. You just kind of take it day by day and don’t change anything you’re doing and trust the coaches because they know how to win," senior cornerback Mark Milton said. "That’s a perfect recipe to win, and that’s what we did.”
The Big 12 is paying attention to the Bears. So are national voters. Last season, Oklahoma State ranked No. 5 in the College Football Playoff standings entering the Big 12 title game.
A win at AT&T Stadium might have propelled the Cowboys into the top four, thus potentially changing the outcome of last year's national championship while also adding fuel to CFP expansion truthers cases.
The Bears could have jumped from No. 9 to No. 4 with the victory, but two losses hurt their case. As a repeat champion, that carries weight with the voters in terms of consistency, but a two-loss program has never made the CFP since being founded in 2014.
We’re going to get everybody’s best every week," senior receiver Gavin Holmes said. "We got to go out there and prepare and be ready. We’ve got to out there with something to prove still."
It's not as if Aranda and Baylor are strolling their way back to the Greater Dallas area in December, either. Last season, the Bears hosted programs such as BYU, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Texas. This year, they make the trip to Provo for a "Holy War" rival.
They'll close the season out in Austin against what could be an improved Longhorns' roster, led by Heisman hopeful running back Bijan Robinson.
“We talk about running into a storm, and we talk about the road games coming up,” Aranda said. “Our ability to take advantage of opportunities in practices is going to give us a chance during the season when the storms hit.”
Baylor players have bought into Arnada's preaching. Within his philosophical background, Arnada mentioned a quote from The Bible about how "no one pours new wine into old wineskins."
The meaning? One can't duplicate the same success again. Routines, concepts and formations that worked on the way to the best season in program history won't work a second time around.
The good news? Aranda is always willing to test his palette with a variety of flavors. He's never been about taking shortcuts or the easy way.
"Whatever's hard to do, let's do that," Arnada said. "Whatever's easy to do, let's do that."
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Cole Thompson is a sports writer and columnist covering the NFL and college sports for SI's Fan Nation. A 2016 graduate from The University of Alabama, follow him on Twitter @MrColeThompson