Disappointing Season Ends for Baylor
FORT WORTH, Texas – The Baylor Bears didn’t want to play in stadium of perhaps their fiercest rival. Throw in sub-freezing temperatures, and the motivation just didn’t seem to be there for Thursday night's Armed Forces Bowl matchup against Air Force.
Neither did the effort.
The listless Bears ended the season with their fourth consecutive loss, falling 30-15 to the Falcons at TCU’s Amon Carter Stadium.
Baylor (6-7) came into the season defending a Big 12 title and ranked No. 10. The Bears exit with plenty of questions for 2013, though Baylor coach Dave Aranda praised his team’s “fight” in the final game.
“From a team perspective it is a disappointing end to a disappointing season,” Aranda said. “There is a lot to be learned for our returners and younger people. A lot to look at and try to emulate as well. The fight that we just mentioned, the showing up under tough circumstances and never backing down and putting yourselves out there. Those are things we can build on.”
The thermostat measured in the lower teens at kickoff, making it one of the coldest bowl games in history. The attendance reflected both the weather and the general apathy Baylor fans had for the game.
Despite TCU being only about 90 miles from the Waco campus – and the number of BU alums in the DFW area – buildup for the game was minimal. The Baylor fans that did make their way to Amon Carter Stadium had mostly filtered out by the time the fourth quarter started.
The Bears managed only 230 yards of offense and struggled to stop Air Force’s triple-option. Falcons quarterback Haaziq Daniels ran for 86 yards and passed for another 103. Air Force (10-3) ran for 289 yards.
Blake Shapen completed 11-23 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears fell behind 9-0 in the first quarter and were forced to play catchup the rest of the game.
It’s a far cry from last season for Baylor.
“It is a completely different team from last year to this year,” Aranda said. “There was a lot of learning from me. I look back now and have had some time to do this prior to this question.
“I see the things coming, and things we didn’t see coming and it may be a lack of experience on my part. To be transparent about it only helps you get better. The college football world as it changes, through the portal and everything else, is my personal view of that is it is something here to stay and I think all of that has grown this year.”
The Bears head into the offseason hoping to rebound after Aranda’s second losing season in three years.
“This year could really be looked at as a lesson,” Aranda added. “I just see us getting better. For the guys that are returning to see the work, they are going to see the work, and the adversity, and how to handle it and be better for it.”
You can find Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92.
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