It's a big weekend in the Bounce House with UCF playing host to Baylor for their inaugural home game in the Big 12. To get the lowdown on the Bears, UCFSports.com caught up with Grayson Grundhoefer of SicEm365 to talk about the matchup.
The two schools do share some history. A decade ago, UCF and Baylor met in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2014 with the heavy-underdog Knights shocking the nation with a decisive victory. The 2013 team will be honored at the game on Saturday.
As for 2023 Baylor, the Bears have had a sluggish start (1-3) though against a tough schedule. They were shocked in week one by Texas State, lost by a touchdown to then-No. 12 Utah, beat FCS Long Island and then were heavily outmatched by No. 3 Texas. All four games have been played in Waco and this will be their first road game of the season.
Like UCF, Baylor has been dealing with an injury to their starting quarterback. Blake Shapen strained his knee in the season opener and could potentially return this weekend. The Bears are also hoping to get a few other players back.
Grundhoefer talks about what's surprised him so far this season and how the different the offense could look if Shapen gives it a go. Defensively, he breaks down what players to watch and what has been their biggest weakness.
This is Baylor's fourth year under the leadership of Dave Aranda. After winning the Big 12 Championship in 2021, the Bears have trailed off. They finished 6-7 last season and now 1-3 this year. How does the fanbase feel about Aranda at this point?
We also talked about several other topics, including how Baylor fans view Art Briles today, their top rivals in the Big 12, NIL in Waco, the gameday atmosphere at McLane Stadium and more.
For all things Baylor, check out SicEm365 and Grayson's Twitter.
