Rushing yards: Baylor 303, BYU 67

While the Cougars did make up some of that gap with 111 more passing yards, the fact that the Bears were able to dominate the line of scrimmage to the point of out-gaining BYU by 256 yards on the ground made it clear which team was better.

The Cougars did surrender more rushing yards to their opponents in all three losses (although BYU did beat South Florida and USC even though they didn’t have as many yards on the ground) but no one was able to manhandle the team from Provo like Baylor did.

But that was then and this is now.

Both the No. 21-ranked Cougars and the No. 9-ranked Bears enter Saturday’s showdown at LaVell Edwards Stadium coming off blowout wins in Week 1 and looking to prove they are an elite team.

But while there will be some new faces on the field, the key to victory remains the same: Be the more physical team.

“We’ve got to be physical,” BYU junior quarterback Jaren Hall said earlier this week. “We don’t think back to some of the games in the past because it doesn’t do us any good, but we learned from that game that we have to be physical, have to be able to run the ball. This week our plan is to be physical and do what we can up front.”

That is going to be a tall task because Baylor has both great athletes and solid execution, which makes the Bears tough to beat.

“Baylor runs their schemes really well,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said. “They are fundamentally sound and their offense is going to be strong. I know (Bear offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes) will always have them ready. The strength of the team is up front. Their offensive line is really, really tough so it will be a good matchup for our guys, for our offensive line and defensive lines. They have tons of speed and athleticism to compliment what they have up front on offense and defense. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Sitake said that his biggest takeaway from the loss to Baylor last fall was that his team has to play better to hang with the Bears.

“Sometimes the best teacher is to physically go through the experience,” Sitake said. “I know our players, especially up front, realized that they needed to change some things, to get stronger. And they definitely got it done. Now we’ll see how that applies to the football field on Saturday.”

BYU junior offensive lineman Blake Freeland said the Cougar offense knows it will be facing a big challenge when it lines up against the big, athletic Baylor defensive front.

“I remember that they were a really good defense,” Freeland said. “I think this year we need to run the ball a lot better than we did — and I think that starts up front. I think we have a lot to prove. Going against a good defensive line, you’ve got to be able to run the rock.”

It’s a similar mentality for the BYU defense, according to senior defensive lineman Lorenzo Fauatea. He said this is the point where all the offseason work needs to pay off.

“Going into this game against Baylor, we needed to get bigger and stronger,” Fauatea said. “But I feel like we are. Everybody looks better. Everybody feels better. And I think everyone is playing better.”

He said that this is a game that has been on the minds of Cougar players, given how the team lost and the connections with former BYU coaches like Grimes and offensive line coach Eric Mateos.

“Baylor is the team everyone has looked forward to playing after the game last year and playing against Grimes,” Fauatea said. “We have all the respect in the world for Coach Grimes and Coach Mateos. But this is a game that we have looked forward to. They are a Top 25 team and have a great program, so there is nothing better that you can ask for on Saturday.”

No. 21 BYU vs. No. 9 Baylor

TIME:8:15 p.m. MT

TV:ESPN

WHERE: LaVell Edwards Stadium

THE WORD: This will be the fourth meeting between BYU and Baylor with the Bears holding a 2-1 lead in the series. Baylor won the last time the two teams played, a 38-24 victory in Waco in 2021, while Baylor also beat the Cougars, 40-36, in Provo in 1983. BYU’s only win in the series came in 1984 when the Cougars won, 47-13, in Waco on their way to winning the national championship … BYU is 31-64-1 vs. ranked opponents and 5-22-1 against teams in the Top 10. The last Cougar win over a team ranked in the Top 10 was BYU’s 24-21 victory at Wisconsin in 2018 … BYU is 3-3 in home openers under head coach Kalani Sitake, including last year’s 26-17 win over Utah in the second week of the 2021 season.