One True Podcast: Baylor/Big 12 football Waco Tribune-Herald

We're joined by Texas State correspondent for the Austin American-Statesman Keff Ciardello (@Keff_C), along with the Trib's Baylor beat writer Zach Smith (@ByZachSmith) and sports editor Brice Cherry (@BriceCherry), ready to react to an eventful week of Baylor and Big 12 happenings as the season winds down.
1. Jake Spavital spent four years as the head coach at Texas State, going 13-35, but was fired after the 2022 season and has been the offensive coordinator at an improved Cal program this year. He'll now be Dave Aranda's third OC in four seasons after Jeff Grimes was unsurprisingly let go. Keff, what can you tell us about what to expect from a Spavital offense?
2. Mack Rhoades zigged where others zagged as many other coaches were fired over the last week — but Dave Aranda was not, even following a very disappointing 3-9 season. Being patient is not the norm in today's college football world, and a lot of Baylor fans are definitely unhappy. Now with Aranda under the gun, what kind of season does he need to have in 2024 to stick around for a sixth year (and beyond) in Waco?
3. The transfer portal allows teams to completely reinvent themselves from year to year. Nobody flipped their whole roster this year quite like Texas State, but how aggressive does Baylor need to be when the portal opens next week? What's the biggest area of need for the Bears?
4. The Big 12 championship game is this week with the Texas Longhorns vs. Oklahoma State at Jerryworld. Assuming the Longhorns win, do they crack the College Football Playoff, despite sitting No. 7 at the moment?
5. The Texas State Bobcats are going bowling after a 7-5 year, finishing tied for second in the Sun Belt. What's their likely destination in the first year under GJ Kinne?
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We're joined by Eric Kelly of KWKT-TV Fox 44 in Waco (@EricKellyTV), along with the Trib's Baylor beat writer Zach Smith (@ByZachSmith) and sports editor Brice Cherry (@BriceCherry), ready to dig into some BU and Big 12 football talk to wrap up the regular season: 
1. There will be plenty of good seats available at McLane Stadium on Saturday for the end to a lackluster, to understate it, Baylor Bears season. So we're all on Dave Aranda watch: But does this game even really factor in to that decision? Would a big win, or a big loss, actually matter to his job security?
2. There have been a lot of problem areas for the Bears, who are something like No. 68 in the nation in total offense, 108th in total defense and the special team aren't sterling, either. What area is the most obvious need for Baylor to improve the most?
3. Neal Brown at West Virginia clearly had the hottest seat coming into to the Big 12 season, but the Mountaineers are now looking like they'll go 8-4. Is he the obvious choice for Big 12 coach of the year, and it not, who? Could Mike Gundy or Matt Campbell get a look?
4. Who are your Heisman top 3? What are the pros and cons of Jaden Daniels? Is there a Big 12 dark horse? We debate it all.
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1. This isn't exactly the rivalry game most were expecting coming into this year, with Baylor (3-7) and TCU (4-6) really not having good years, to put it mildly. Is there really any reason to watch this one at all?
2. We've talked a lot about Baylor's spiraling season, but TCU has had a pretty awful year, too, following up on last year's national title game appearance. What has gone wrong in Fort Worth and led to this erratic season for the Horned Frogs?
3. TCU may have won some close games to reach the CFP championship game last year, but Baylor is currently playing some not-so-close games. Dave Aranda always says the film is "humbling and frustrating to watch." The fans and media like us have banged on Aranda and the coaching staff plenty this year, but is it possible this version of the Bears just isn't talented enough, or doesn't have enough roster depth, to win? And how do the transfer portal and NIL play into that?
4. The big game this week is the Sunflower State Showdown, with Kansas State traveling to Kansas. The Wildcats are coming off an easy win over Baylor while the Jayhawks dropped a surprising one at home, 16-13 to Texas Tech. But it's still a big game: What's the likelihood of little-brother Kansas knocking off K-State?
5. Let's talk some Fort Worth eats: Here are our Trib traditions of can't miss-places when you head to Cowtown.
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We're joined by Kansas State beat writer Tim Everson of the Manhattan Mercury (@iamtimeverson), along with the Trib's Baylor beat writer Zach Smith (@ByZachSmith), Trib alum John Werner (@JohnWernerTrib) and sports editor Brice Cherry (@BriceCherry), ready to dig into some BU and Big 12 football talk: 
1. This is as big a mismatch as Baylor has had this year: The Kansas State Wildcats are the defending Big 12 champs, 6-3 overall despite an OT loss in Austin last week, and they still have a path back to Arlington. Baylor, on the other hand, will not be invited to Arlington and maybe not a bowl, either. Where would a Bears upset rank on the weird-o-meter for 2023?
2. We've talked about how disciplined and physical K-State is, with great fundamentals. Let's get some insight from Tim: What makes this team so tough?
3. Let's go down to Austin for a second — QB Quinn Ewers has been upgraded from questionable to day-to-day. How much of a difference can Ewers make for the Longhorns down the stretch?
4. The Sunflower State Showdown is next week: How big a game is Kansas vs. K-State this year, especially in the history of that rivalry?
5. Time for some Kansas/Kansas City food talk: Where are the good places to hit?
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We're joined by Houston beat writer Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle (@Joseph_Duarte), along with the Trib's Baylor beat writer Zach Smith (@ByZachSmith) and sports editor Brice Cherry (@BriceCherry), ready to dig into some BU and Big 12 football talk: 
1. Saturday's game could be called the Disappointment Bowl — which may be the closest either of these teams gets to a bowl this year. It's been a pair of erratic, disappointing seasons for the Bears and Cougars, who are both 3-5 overall, with the Cougars 1-4 in the Big 12 thanks to a Hail Mary win against West Virginia and the Bears at 2-3 after a humbling Homecoming loss to Iowa State last week. Houston has not won a road game this year. Baylor has not beaten an FBS team at home. So something's gotta give. Who wins? 
2. Obviously, neither fanbase is very happy with its head coach right now. Dana Holgorsen has been at UH since 2019 and went 12-2 in 2021, winning the American, but the team regressed to 8-5 last year. Meanwhile, after a bad COVID-19 debut, Dave Aranda's squad also went 12-2 in 2021, winning the Big 12 and the Sugar Bowl before a big backslide to 6-7 last season. On a scale from 1 to 10, how hot is the seat for each of these guys? 
3. For all the OU-Texas talk dominating the season, it's actually a five-way tie atop the Big 12 standings right now, along with Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Iowa State. The Wildcats travel to the Longhorns this week, and Chris Klieman's team is probably playing as well as anyone in the Big 12, winning by a combined 81-3 the last two weeks. How worried should Texas fans be about this one? 
4. It's Bedlam week, and for the last time in awhile. It's kind of early for this game to be played, but it's always a fun one. OU has won 17 of the last 20, but the last game in Stillwater was a Cowboys win. Can OSU send the "fraudulent Sooners," according to one of our pundits, off to the SEC with a loss? 
5. Dana Holgorsen is “still kind of mad” about the 2020 "equipment truck-gate," which saw the game between the Cougars and Baylor canceled. He seems intent on turning Baylor-Houston into a permanent rivalry. 
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We're joined by Iowa State beat writer Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register (@RandyPete), along with the Trib's Baylor beat writer Zach Smith (@ByZachSmith) and sports editor Brice Cherry (@BriceCherry), ready to dig into some BU and Big 12 football talk:
1. Iowa State's last game was against Cincinnati, too, a 30-10 road win two weeks ago as the Cyclones are coming into Waco this Saturday off a bye week. The Baylor Bears, who held on 32-29 last week in the Queen City, are now just a game under .500 after a rocky start. This one seems to historically be pretty close — it was a 31-24 BU win last year in Ames and a two-pointer two years ago at McLane Stadium. This year the oddsmakers have it close, too, under a field goal — who wins, and will it be close yet again?
2. It's hard to run the table in the Big 12, emblematic in OU and Texas' narrow escapes a week ago. But with just five games to go, is there a school out there in the league that can upend the Longhorns-Sooners collision course for the Big 12 title game?
3. Let's talk Matt Campbell: His name has popped up a lot for different jobs over the years, most recently Michigan State. What's the likelihood the Iowa State coach might depart? He's been in Ames since 2016.
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