Baylor, Air Force looking to open up their offenses

When Baylor hosts Air Force on Saturday night in Waco, Texas, both teams will be on a mission to invigorate anemic offenses.

Last weekend, the Bears (1-1) and the Falcons (1-1) lost and scored just one touchdown each.

In its 23-12 loss at then-No. 11 Utah, Baylor gained 223 yards. While falling behind 23-0 in the first half, the Bears appeared ill-suited to compete with a ranked Big 12 foe.

Dequan Finn finished with nine completions in 21 attempts for 115 yards and one touchdown.

"Early in the game, it was too big for everybody," Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. "I was at fault for that. I think I made it more about things other than the opponent right in front of you and I think that affected Dequan, too."

The key play as Utah built its lead came when Finn fumbled as he was sacked, giving the Utes the ball at the Bears 3. Utah scored on the ensuing play to double its advantage to 14-0 before the game was seven minutes old.

It was an unsettling loss for Baylor, which has been in a downward spiral since Aranda guided the Bears to the Big 12 title in 2021. Baylor went 6-7 in 2022 and 3-9 last year.

Meanwhile Air Force tallied just 197 yards in a 17-7 Mountain West Conference loss at home to San Jose State as its traditionally potent rushing attack produced 3.1 yards per attempt.

The Falcons' lone touchdown drive covered just 14 yards and came after an interception in the first quarter by Jerome Gaillard Jr.

Cade Harris led Air Force with 50 yards on eight carries, while John Busha completed only 7 of 20 passes for 54 yards with two interceptions.

"I know we got a tough one ... going down to Baylor," Falcons coach Troy Calhoun said. "We really, really got to work on Air Force."

Air Force and Baylor have met four times, with the Falcons' lone victory coming in the 2022 Armed Forces Bowl.

--Field Level Media