Dave Aranda says Baylor QB Blake Shapen (MCL) will be out 2-3 weeks

Here are three takeaways from Baylor head coach Dave Aranda’s Monday press conference:

Shapen out 2-3 weeks

Aranda announced starting quarterback Blake Shapen will miss the next two to three weeks with an MCL injury. Aranda said Shapen would get an MRI after the Bears’ 42-31 loss to the Texas State Bobcats on Saturday. Backup quarterback Sawyer Robertson, the Mississippi State transfer who has yet to make a collegiate start, is set to lead the offense.

“He’s a confident kid,” Aranda said. “He’s going to bring energy today in meetings and walkthroughs ... There’s a contagious spirit about him … and we’re going to need that, especially early in the week [to] kind of pick ourselves off the mat. There’s a great amount of belief in him with the team. They know that with him, we’ve got a great chance.

“They feel comfortable with him in situations where a ball has to be thrown and play has to be made. There’s that type of confidence and I think that gives everybody else confidence.”

Robertson threw for 113 yards in relief of the injured Shapen on Saturday, which came in the second half. Shapen tried to stay on the field and gut it out, but Aranda ultimately pulled him to prevent his knee injury from intensifying. Robertson connected on 6-of-12 passes but also threw an interception in the end zone and fumbled the ball on the team’s final possession.

It wasn’t the most pristine of starts for Robertson in a green and gold uniform, but now he gets to spend the entire week running with the starters as the Bears prepare for a No. 14 Utah.

Tough conversations

The Bobcats secured their first win over a power conference opponent ever with their victory over the Bears on Saturday. Baylor entered the game as 26.5-point favorites. It marks one of the worst blemishes to Aranda’s resume at the helm for the Bears. He said after the game that a loss like that is unacceptable.

When asked if those postgame conversations were harder between players or staff, Aranda said both are equally brutal.

“Staff wise, there’s been … you’re down in a valley [and] you climb up a mountain only to find out at the start of the season that there’s more mountains,” Aranda said. “And you’re kind of hoping that you’re reaching a peak and kind of taking off and, for that not to be the case is … I think it’s one of the things with this sport, much like life, you know?

“And then with our team, it’s, hey, this is what you did. This isn’t who you are. We’ve seen who you are, and we want to be able to put that on tape. We want to show the world that. And so, I think it’s kind of holding that together.”

Feed Reese more

Fans were probably wondering why running back Richard Reese was only given seven carries on Saturday. Oklahoma State transfer Dominic Richardson led the way with 84 yards on 16 attempts, but Reese struggled to get a rhythm behind an offensive line that was struggling in a big way.

Reese finished with just 19 yards. Aranda said the plan is to get him more involved in order to make Reese and Richardson a true tailback tandem.

“As we got into it, Dom was having kind of a hot couple carries there; a hot streak, so to speak, of falling forward and kind of energizing the sidelines, and so, we kind of went with that,” Aranda said. “And then Richard gave us some on the perimeter runs particularly, but we’d like to be able to get him more involved.”

Reese lit the Big 12 on fire when he broke Baylor’s freshman rushing record for yards (972) and had the fourth-most rushing TDs (14) in program history.

Twitter: @MichaelHaag_

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