The Friday night game against UCF saw Baylor travel to the Bounce House and absolutely deflate the thing. Baylor would win 41-9. In the first game without Dave Aranda, both the offense and defense stepped up and showed the nation that the Bears are still a very dangerous football team. And, after their next opponent ISU defeated the 'Pokes of OSU on Saturday, the Bears are back in control of their own destiny in the Big 12.

Scoring the game's first points, and being the only team to score any touchdowns this week must have been a similar feeling to how TCU felt recently when the Horned Frogs came to Waco. I don't mean to poke at an injury that still stings; it's just nice to be on the other side of that coin after how the last two weeks have gone. In the post-game presser though, coach Joe Klanderman was able to make a statement sharing his thoughts before taking a few questions.

Coach Klanderman's Opening Statement

Thankful for it all.
🎥 Go inside the locker room on @BaylorPlus pic.twitter.com/qvTJslWJES

— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) October 31, 2026

Coach Klanderman: "Yeah, man, I'm speechless. I'm grateful for the opportunity that Doug and Javon have given me. I'm grateful that I'm a Baylor Bear. I'm grateful that these guys have such maturity and love for each other that they can come out and do what they did tonight. And I'm so excited for them.

"People don't need to be congratulating me. I'm not the one that did anything. They're the ones that did it. And I'm so – I'm speechless, which is how these guys came out. I knew that they were galvanized. I knew they had a lot of love for each other, and I figured they were going to come out and play with passion and energy. But we played well, too. So it was really fun to watch these guys, and I'm just excited for tomorrow with them."

No tricks, just treats. 🎃#SicEm | @TheGavinFreeman pic.twitter.com/9iAemo5zuX

— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) October 31, 2026

Our Take: "Humble" would be a good way to describe Joe Klanderman based on how he's conducted himself during the past week in front of a microphone. From his first Media Availability this past Monday to the post-game presser Friday night, Coach Klanderman has repeatedly emphasized that all credit should go to the players.

And he's not wrong about the team appearing galvanized; while the defense has been the same level of dominant throughout the season, the offense hasn't. Against UCF though, the Bears looked ready to win. Playing fast, playing loose, and playing in unison with each other; there were even smiles on the sidelines.

How's That First Win Feel, Coach?

🎥 Highlights from the win in Orlando.#SicEm | @nxlink pic.twitter.com/NgszKad9JJ

— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) October 31, 2026

Coach Klanderman: "Yeah, tremendous. I mean, there's no other word to describe it but that. It was relieved. Tremendous. I mean, they deserve it so much, and I wanted to give it to them, and I just didn't want to disappoint them. And I figured if I could stay out of their way, they would take care of the work. And so that's what I tried to do, and they just went out and played their butts off."

Our Take: I think coach Klanderman might have just said my favorite thing that I've heard a coach say since Jim Mora was asked about his team's chances in the playoffs back in the 90s (admittedly for vastly different reasons). A coach can coach all that they can the other six days of the week, but come game day it's all about the players playing. And against UCF, the Bears didn't disappoint (the offensive line is still a bit of a question mark though).

The Energy that Baylor Showed Throughout the Entire Game

Trick or treat, @CoachKlanderman 🎃 https://t.co/bDGm0EI2x7 pic.twitter.com/hIRDdVlXMM

— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) October 31, 2026

Coach Klanderman: "That's Baylor energy. That's what you're going to get. That's what you're going to get with this group. That's what you're going to get with me. And I told them just now, that's just the ground floor. You don't have a chance if you don't have energy and passion. And I thought that might have been lacking the last couple of weeks.

"We kind of went through the – I don't want to say you guys weren't playing hard. That's not the case. But there was a little bit of mundane attitude with some of the guys. And we kind of nipped that in the bud early in the week, and they went out there and had the energy that you need. And then on top of that, they executed the plans, both on offense and defense."

Our Take: Coach Klanderman didn't just show up to Waco yesterday, he's been watching all season through his duties as DC. The Bears team that showed up in Orlando had more energy and fire to them than the Bears team that played in Lawrence, Kansas, last week and in Waco against TCU the week before that. If "Baylor energy" is going to translate into more games like this one against UCF, then I like the Bears' chances down the late stretch of the season a little more than I maybe once had.

On the Offensive Line

Coach Klanderman: "Yeah, I told the position coaches in the middle of the week that I want to play more guys. I want to have more guys in the rotation that was on the offensive line, those in the defensive secondary. That was a receiver in a lot of positions. I wanted to get guys in the game. I wanted to get guys involved. I want them to have a chance to represent Baylor. And so some of that was by design.

"And then, yeah, that group's been pretty banged up. We're not blessed with just 15 guys that we can roll in there. So that's the position, and the nature of our offense is going to be that those guys are going to get a lot of smash face time.

"But how do I assess them? We still have a ways to go as far as moving our feet and getting out of some of those holding penalties. We're working on that. We'll get that corrected.

"But I thought, man, they were competitive. They were grimy. They were gritty. They moved the ball. They took pride in the things that they were doing. They protected DJ, by and large, very well. They were all set. For a group that, you know, a defense that moves around and twists and stunts and has a lot of stuff, they handled it. They were exceptional. Thank you, guys."

So much space for the tight ends tonight 🚀#SicEm | @Matthew_Klop pic.twitter.com/RBvbjLio1M

— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) October 31, 2026

Our Take: The O-line's struggles this season have been a thing of note and a conversation piece for many. For as hard as these young men are working and competing, the O-line still earned a "dud" rating as a unit this week. The holding penalties are costly, but some can be forgiven through various explanations. Pre-snap false start penalties though are much more frustrating, and they've been a problem throughout the entire season.

Not without being deserving of credit though, they did indeed keep DJ Lagway safe in the pocket about as much as possible. They've actually been a fairly solid unit on overall pass protection this season, it's been the shortcomings in run support that has been the issue.