Dave Aranda breaks down Baylor's preparation for Matt Corral
Baylor and Ole Miss are set to face off in the Sugar Bowl at 8:45 p.m. ET on Saturday night. The Bears know that facing quarterback Matt Corral and the Ole Miss offense will be a tough test. Ahead of the matchup, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda broke down how Baylor has been preparing for Ole Miss and the explosive offensive attack.
“For Matt Corral, I think he’s a guy that — surely he’s the engine for them,” Aranda said. “I see everything kind of going through him. He has great awareness and patience in the pocket and can find guys that are clearly open, can thread the needle on one-on-one shots on the outside. When the rush is divided and conquered, can get out and scramble and make plays happen, which, for us, the majority of the year has been a struggle.
“But on top of all of those things, the thing you see about him is that he’s a winner, and he does not take to failure and he does not take to not succeed. And so you can see that fight in him, and that bleeds through to his team. And so what a battle we’ve got ahead of us.”
On the year, Corral has thrown for 3,339 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also has 597 yards on the ground with 11 rushing touchdowns. Now through four years at Ole Miss, three of which he has started, Corral has thrown for more than 8,000 yards, 57 touchdowns and 22 interceptions with 1,321 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground.
Instead of opting out to prepare for the NFL Draft, Corral will be playing for Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl against Baylor.
Baylor is looking to shut Corral, Ole Miss
In the Big 12 Championship game, Baylor did a good job of containing Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders. Sanders was held without a touchdowns in the game, and he threw four interceptions. Baylor came away with a 21-16 victory, largely due to the strong defensive performance.
After winning the Big 12 title, Aranda was proud of how his defense played.
“Just knowing Jalen Pitre, knowing Terrel Bernard, just knowing all of those guys and just the pride they have in their craft,” said Aranda after winning the Big 12 title. “Knowing the growth they’ve made as a person – to see that effort and that fight – is just definitive of what’s been happening without all the eyes that are on us today. So I’m blessed to be a part of all of it.”
Now, Baylor is looking for a similar performance against another tough offensive attack in Corral and Ole Miss.