Baylor expected to have starting QB Blake Shapen back for matchup against UCF

Baylor is set to have its starting QB back in action for the first time since Week 1 when it faces Gus Malzahn and UCF on Saturday.

Blake Shapen is expected to start for Bears against the Knights after missing the last three games with a knee injury, sources tell On3.

Shapen was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection last season. He finished last year with 2,790 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He was 21 of 31 for 303 yards with two touchdown passes, one touchdown run and no interceptions during the the team’s 42-31 loss to Texas State in Week 1 before exiting due to the knee injury.

Baylor head coach Dave Aranda had classified Shapen as “day-to-day” earlier in the week.

Without Shapen, Mississippi State transfer Sawyer Robertson has started the last three games for the Bears. In these last three games — a 38-6 loss to No. 3 Texas, a 30-7 win over Long Island and a 20-13 loss to No. 10 Utah — Robertson has thrown for 534 total yards with one touchdown pass, one touchdown run and three interceptions.

Robertson was 20 of 35 for 203 yards with no touchdowns and an interception during the loss to Texas last week.

Baylor, which is in its fourth season with Aranda as its head coach, is looking to rebound after a 6-7 finish to last year and its 1-3 start to this season. Two years ago, the Bears posted a 12-2 record, won the Big 12 and finished the season ranked in the top-five of the AP poll for the first time in school history.

The team Baylor is facing on Saturday, UCF, has been dealing with its own injury situation at quarterback. Starter John Rhys Plumlee has missed the last two games due to a leg injury he suffered during the Knights’ Week 2 win over Boise State.

USF transfer Timmy McClain has started the last two games in his place. UCF beat Villanova, 48-14, in Week and then lost, 44-31, at Kansas State last week.

Baylor enters the matchup against UCF as a 10.5-point underdog.