Hey, y'all! Maggie Whitlock here, coming to you from my design studio in Waco with a tape measure on my hip, paint swatches all over the counter and a green-and-gold throw pillow that says "Sic 'Em" in cross-stitch. I'm an interior designer by trade, which means when I watch football, I see the room. I see what's working, what's peeling, and what needs to come down to the studs.
And last Saturday, friends, we found some water damage.
Part 1: The Walkthrough Nobody Wanted
TCU beat us 17-6 on Saturday night at McLane Stadium. We're 4-2, 2-1 in the Big 12, and our four-game winning streak is over. I'm going to walk you through it like a home inspection, because an honest report is the only kind worth having.
The foundation is solid. Our defense held TCU to 17 points and 33 rushing yards on 30 carries. AP noted Baylor hasn't allowed more than 19 points in any game this season. Six straight games under 20 to start a season is our longest such run since 1966. That defense is load-bearing, y'all. You don't touch it. You just put a nice rug on it.
Safety Micah Gifford was everywhere. He forced a fumble at the end of a 31-yard catch, TCU recovered, and then on the very next play he intercepted Jaden Craig. That's a two-for-one, and I love a two-for-one.
The kitchen needs work. We moved the ball and then stalled. In the first half we had field goal attempts on three straight drives, and every one of them lasted at least 12 plays. Rhett Armstrong missed from 47, then made kicks of 39 and 32. Those were our only points. Three long drives, six points. That's spending all weekend on the backsplash and forgetting to hook up the sink.
DJ Lagway went 22 of 53 for 256 yards with an interception. We ran for 54 yards on 34 carries, and TCU defensive end Koron Hayward had three sacks. We went 6 for 21 on third down. Gavin Freeman caught seven passes for 76 yards and Louis Brown IV had five for 74.
And this is the same offense that hung 564 yards and 55 points on Arizona State two weeks earlier, with four Lagway touchdown passes. So the bones are good. The wiring just flickered. We don't tear down a house over one flickering light. We call the electrician.
Part 2: The Lawrence Project
Saturday, 1 p.m. Eastern, on TNT. Baylor (4-2) at Kansas (2-4), at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence.
Here's the paperwork, y'all. Baylor leads the series 19-4. We've won the last 15 meetings, every one since 2010. The last time Kansas beat Baylor was 2007. Our last trip to Lawrence, in 2021, ended 45-7. When you've been in a house that many times, you stop knocking.
Their Floor Plan
I'll start with the nice features, because every listing has some. Kansas runs the ball well, at 207.2 yards a game, 23rd in FBS. Quarterback Isaiah Marshall ran for 117 yards against Kansas State last week and has 1,294 passing yards this season. Dylan Edwards leads them with 375 rushing yards and four touchdowns, and Nik McMillan has 400 receiving yards on just 23 catches. Bryson Hayes returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown last week. That's a lovely accent wall.
Now the inspection. Kansas is 0-3 in the Big 12 and has lost four of its last five games. Last week against Kansas State, the Jayhawks fumbled a punt snap for a safety. Marshall threw an interception in the end zone while they were trying to tie the game. Then a facemask penalty wiped out his 45-yard touchdown run. Y'all, that's a house where you fix the faucet and the ceiling falls in.
Their run defense allows 174.3 yards a game, 106th in FBS. Their passing game completes 52.7% of its throws. Kansas State ran for 359 yards on them last week. We have the No. 9 run defense in FBS, allowing 86.7 yards a game. If their offense is a two-story house, we're about to take out the stairs.
Our Renovation Plan
This week's project is simple: open up the passing game. Baylor throws for 286 yards a game, 16th in FBS, and Freeman leads us with 49 catches for 555 yards. Kansas's pass defense is solid, at 174.3 yards a game, so we'll need to be smart. Dawson Pendergrass leads our runners with 327 yards. And we have to finish. We rank 119th in FBS in red zone scoring, at 75%. That's like building a gorgeous mudroom and forgetting the front door.
On defense, Daniel Cobbs has three sacks and Travion Barnes leads us with 36 tackles. Keep doing what you're doing, gentlemen. Don't let anyone touch the foundation.
Open House: A Tale of Two Towns
Waco. Let me give you the tour. Waco sits on the Brazos River, halfway from Dallas to Austin, and it had 138,486 people in the 2020 census. Dr Pepper was invented right here in 1885 at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store. The Waco Suspension Bridge opened in 1870, the first bridge across the wide Brazos, where cowboys on the Chisholm Trail drove their cattle over the river. Downtown, Magnolia Market at the Silos fills two city blocks under a pair of 120-foot silos built in 1950. It's owned by Chip and Joanna Gaines of HGTV's Fixer Upper. I'm just saying: Waco knows renovation. My name is literally Magnolia.
And McLane Stadium sits on the north bank of the Brazos. It's one of a handful of major college stadiums where you can show up by boat, and fans "sailgate" in the Baylor Basin. We also have two live bear mascots, Judge Indy and Judge Belle. Real bears. You can't sew those.
Lawrence. Lawrence is a charming old town. But let's read the listing. Lawrence was named for Amos A. Lawrence, a man from Massachusetts. Even back in the 1850s, the folks over in Missouri called it "Yankee Town." Y'all have been decorated in New England style for 170 years. I respect a theme.
Then there's the mascot. By KU's own tradition, the Jayhawk is a combination of two birds: a blue jay, described as "a noisy, quarrelsome thing known to rob other nests," and a sparrow hawk. Friends, I've designed a lot of logos. I have never once had a client ask me to include "robs other nests" in the brand story.
And their stadium? Memorial Stadium opened in 1921, and it's one of the oldest college football stadiums in the country. Phase one of the rebuild, on the west side, finished in 2025. Phase two is still under construction and won't be at full capacity until the 2027 season. Bless them. Kansas is living through a renovation, and I'd know. Pro tip from a designer: never invite company over during a remodel.
Kansas is also, let's be honest, a basketball school. James Naismith founded the program there in 1898, and Allen Fieldhouse is famous. Lawrence had 94,934 people in 2020, and I'd guess most of them would rather be watching a jump shot. That's okay. We'll make it quick so they can get to practice.
The Final Walkthrough
Here's how I see it. Baylor has a top-10 run defense, a defense that hasn't allowed 20 points all season and a passing game that can light up a room when the wiring holds. Kansas runs the ball, has a dangerous return man, and has made a lot of costly mistakes. We've won 15 straight in this series. If we fix the red zone and protect Lagway, we'll leave Lawrence the way we leave every job site: cleaner than we found it.
Sic 'em, Bears. Let's renovate that offense.
My call: Baylor Bears 28, Kansas Jayhawks 27.