Freeman Needs About 208 More Yards: Baylor's Record Chase Meets Iowa State on Homecoming Saturday

By Mac Rivera, RF Sports Radio Baylor voice

Bears fans, forget the noise around the interim tag for a minute. Gavin Freeman is putting up a receiver season Baylor has not seen since Denzel Mims, and Homecoming against Iowa State is the next checkpoint on the way to 1,000 yards.

The facts

Freeman leads the Big 12 and ranks fourth nationally with 63 receptions, and he sits second in the conference with 792 receiving yards, per Sports Illustrated. He is averaging 12.6 yards per catch with 6.5 yards after the catch, and 41 of his catches have moved the chains with three touchdowns, per SI. The last Baylor receiver to reach 1,000 yards was Mims with 1,020 in 2019. Freeman is also on the Biletnikoff Award watch list.

DJ Lagway won Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after the 41-9 win at UCF, and the defensive line was Defensive Line of the Week after seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss, per prior Bear Necessities reporting. Baylor totaled 503 yards and 184 rushing yards in Orlando. Next is Iowa State (4-4, 2-3) on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on FS1 for Homecoming, per BaylorBears.com. Baylor has lost its last two against the Cyclones, including the 2023 meeting in Waco.

Interim coach Joe Klanderman said the team's identity is starting to show and that the Bears will rise to the occasion the rest of the way, per the Waco Tribune-Herald. It is his first home game in charge.

Freeman's profile is not the deep-threat stereotype. SI notes he often catches near the line and wins with yards after catch, which is why Baylor can use him the way other teams use a safety-valve tight end. That versatility is why 63 catches lead the Big 12 by a wide margin over Colorado's Joseph Williams at 51.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: get Freeman the ball early and often. Two hundred eight yards over the final stretch is doable if Lagway keeps distributing and the run game forces safeties down, the way 184 rush yards did at UCF.

Iowa State just survived a 51-49 game, so this could get messy. I want Baylor to punch first, win first down, and let Freeman work the intermediate middle. A Homecoming win keeps the bowl push clean and keeps the Freeman watch national.

Klanderman needs a home win on his resume. Freeman needs targets. Those goals are the same plan.

What to watch next

Watch Freeman's yardage total Saturday and whether Baylor runs it enough to open play-action. For the post-UCF hangover warning, read our Nov. 4 Freeman feature, and follow the Bears on our Baylor Football page.

Radio question: does Gavin Freeman clear 1,000 yards this season, and how many targets should he see against Iowa State?

Sources: Sports Illustrated - Baylor's Gavin Freeman tops Big 12 receiving charts; BaylorBears.com - Baylor hosts Iowa State in nation's longest-running Homecoming; Bear Necessities (Waco Tribune-Herald) - Klanderman on Iowa State; Cyclone Fanatic - Five Baylor players to know vs Iowa State.