Dave Aranda highlights running game, praises Richard Reese after Kansas win

Baylor (4-3) defeated Kansas (5-3) 35-23 Saturday in a game where the Jayhawks were playing catch-up for the entire game.

Leading 28-3 at halftime, the Bears were outscored 20-7 in the second half, but their prowess in the rushing attack allowed Baylor to take control of the matchup and keep Kansas at bay. Bears head coach Dave Aranda discussed how the run-game contributed to the win on the field after the game

“It was very important,” Aranda said on the ESPN2 broadcast. “That’s our identity. It turned out that [in-game circumstances allowed us to] be able to really focus and harness all of our attention on the run game. I thought it paid off.”

Those circumstances can be traced back to the 30 MPH wind gusts that were clocked all throughout the first half. The wind reportedly died down a little in the second half, but special teams issues were in the back of everyones minds as the game progressed.

Thankfully for Baylor, their 273 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground Saturday negated any wind-based issues that could have been caused otherwise.

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Freshman running back Richard Reese had a career day, carrying the ball 31 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns. His previous career best came during Week 3’s 42-7 beatdown of Texas State when he rushed for 156 yards on 19 carries for three touchdowns.

Aranda had nothing but great things to say about his standout running back after the victory.

“There was a relentlessness about him, there was a toughness, there was a an edge that he was playing with,” Aranda said of Reese. “The amount of times he fell forward after contact – and he’s getting hit by guys twice his size – it was good to see. He played very violent today.”