Dave Aranda has Baylor rolling, Cropper leads Fresno State

Dave Aranda claimed his first signature victory of his brief career as head coach at Baylor on Saturday. Living up to his reputation as one of the best defensive minds in the game, Aranda guided the Bears to an upset over Iowa State.

The undefeated Bears (4-0) knocked off one of the early favorites for the Big 12 title. Now Aranda has folks in Waco, Texas, excited about the future.

At Our Esquina, where we amplify Latino stories and voices in sports, we are tracking all Latinos in college football. Of the 112 Latinos coaches and players we are currently tracking, Aranda and Oregon coach Mario Cristobal have teams in the Top 25 in the Associated Press poll.

Cristobal’s Ducks (4-0) are No. 3 in the AP Poll, behind only No. 2 Georgia and defending national champion Alabama. Baylor entered the Top 25 for the first time this week at No. 21.

Jalen Cropper, Latino Offensive Player of the Week

For the second consecutive week, Fresno State wide receiver Jalen Cropper is our Offensive Player of the Week. 

In the Bulldogs’ conference opener, Cropper had four receiving touchdowns to help the Bulldogs overcome a slow start and two double-digit deficits to defeat UNLV 38-30.

Cropper scored the Bulldogs’ final four touchdowns before 35,093 on a smoke-filled Friday night in Fresno. He finished with 10 catches for 108 yards.

The 18th ranked Bulldogs (3-1) head to Hawaii this week.

Malcolm Rodriguez, Latino Defensive Player of the Week

Oklahoma State super senior linebacker Malcom Rodriguez recovered a fumble in the end zone with 3:15 remaining in the first quarter to give the Cowboys a 21-10 lead. 

Rodriguez had seven tackles, six of them solo, one tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries In route in a 31-20 victory over Kansas State.

The Cowboys stymied the Kansas State offense. Rodriguez and Co. held the Wildcats to only 260 yards of total offense, including a season-low 62 yards rushing. The Cowboys are 4-0 and ranked 19th.

Dave Aranda, Latino Coach of the Week

On the same weekend one of his childhood inspirations, Tom Flores, was honored at halftime of the Las Vegas Raiders’ game, Dave Aranda guided Baylor over Iowa State.

Aranda, who is in his second season as head coach of the Bears, is showing why Baylor drew praise when he was lured away from LSU after helping the Tigers win the national championship.

Don’t be surprised if Aranda has Baylor in the Big 12 title game later this year.

Latinos in College Football

LAST NAME, FIRST NAME	TEAM	POSITION	STATS	TEAM RESULT
Aguilar, Luis	NAU	K	FG- 1/3PAT-1/1	L, 17-10Northern Colorado
Alonso, Mandy	Virginia	DL	Tackles, 4- Total, 1- solo, 0.5 TFL	L, 37-17Wake Forest
Araiza, Matt	San Diego St.	P/K	3 punts, 65.7 avg.FG: 2-2PAT- 6/6	W, 48-21Towson
Aranda, Dave	Baylor	Head Coach		W, 31-29Iowa State
Arias, Daniel	Colorado	WR	NO STATS.	L, 35-13Arizona State
Arroyo, Elijah	Miami (FL)	TE	1 rec.,7 yds.	W, 69-0Central Connecticut
Arroyo, Marcus	UNLV	Head Coach		L, 38-30Fresno State
Avalos, Andy	Boise State	Head Coach		W, 27-3Utah State
Aybar, Wilfredo	Stanford	LB	NO STATS	L, 35-24UCLA
Banda, Ephraim	Utah State	Def. Coord/Safeties		L, 27-3Boise State
Barr-Mira, Nicholas	UCLA	K	FG-0/1PAT- 5/5	W, 35-24Stanford
Borregales, Andrés	Miami (FL)	K	PAT: 7/7	W, 69-0Central Connecticut
Calzada, Zach	Texas A&M	QB	20-36, 151 YDS, 1 INT	L, 20-10Arkansas
Camarena, Evan	Portland State	CB	3 tackles	L, 30-17Montana St.
Canales, Mike “Chico”	Maryland	Analyst		W, 37-16Kent State
Cardenas, Oscar	UTSA	TE	NO STATS	W, 31-28Memphis
Cavazos, Lejond	Ohio State	CB	2 tackles	W, 59-7Akron
Coley, James	Texas A&M	TE Coach		L, 20-10Arkansas
Corral, Matt	Ole Miss	QB	NO STATS	BYE
Corrales, Beau	North Carolina	WR	NO STATS	L, 45-22Georgia Tech
Cristobal, Mario	Oregon	Head Coach		W, 41-19Arizona
Cropper, Jalen	Fresno St.	WR	10 rec., 108 yds. 4 TD	W, 38-30UNLV
Cruz, Gunner	Arizona	QB	NO STATS	L, 41-19Oregon
Davila, Peter	Albany	DB Coach		BYE
Diaz, Manny	Miami (FL)	Head Coach		W, 69-0Central Connecticut
Escobar, Alex	NM State	RB	NO STATS	L, 41-21Hawai’i
Escobar, Ivan	NM State	DL	1 Tackle	L, 41-21Hawai’i
Fernandez, Aaron	Southern Utah	RGC/OL		L, 50-21Eastern Washington
Figueroa, Nick	USC	DL	Tackles 2- Total, 1- Solo	L, 45-27Oregon State
Flores, Reynaldo	UTEP	RB	NO STATS	W, 20-13New Mexico
Flores, Joah	New Mexico	WR	1/1, 5 yds.	L, 20-13UTEP
Flores, Justin	Maine	WR coach		L, 41-14Northern Illinois
Fuente, Justin	Virginia Tech	Head Coach		W, 21-10Richmond
Flores, Reynaldo	UTEP	RB	NO STATS	W, 20-13New Mexico
Garcia, Elijah	Rice	DL	Tackles- 32- solo	W, 48-34Texas Southern
Garcia, Jake	Miami (FL)	QB	11/14, 147 yds, 2 TD 1 rush, 45 yds.	W, 69-0 Central Connecticut St.
Garcia, Julio	UNLV	OL	433 yds.- Total offense	L, 38-30Fresno State
Garcia, Xavier	Temple	Def. GA		W, 41-7Wagner
Garcia- Castaneda, Isaiah	NM State	WR	4 rec., 18 yds.	L, 41-21Hawai’i
Gonzalez, Billy	Florida	WR/ Passing Game Coord.		W, 38-14Tennessee
Gonzales, Christian	Colorado	CB	Tackles- 7- Total, 5- solo, 1- TFL	L, 35-13Arizona State
Gonzales, Danny	New Mexico	Head Coach		L, 20-13UTEP
Gonzales, Paul	TCU	Safeties Coach		L, 42-34SMU
Gutierrez, Daniel	UNLV	K	3/3- FG	L, 38-30Fresno State
Hernandez, Dan	Eastern Illinois	OL Coach		W, 28-14Tennessee Tech
Hernandez, Zach	Cal Poly	DB	1 pass breakup	L, 39-7Montana
Infante, Gabe	Temple	RB Coach		W, 41-7Wagner
Jackson, Jim	Rice	TE Coach		W, 48-34Texas Southern
Loya, Logan	UCLA	WR	1 rec., 4 yds.	W, 34-20Stanford
Lozano, Alex	Portland State	LB	7 tackles, 6- solo	L, 30-17Montana State
Madrigal, Anthony	San Jose St.	LB	NO STATS	L, 23-3Western Michigan
Magana, Jorge	Montana Tech	LB	NO STATS	L, 45-21Montana Western
Maldonado, Dino	NM State	QB	NO STATS	L, 41-21Hawai’i
Maldonado, Gunner	Arizona	Safety	6 tackles, 4 solo	L, 41-19Oregon
Martinez, Adrian	Nebraska	QB	24/34, 251 yds., 1 INT  20 rushes, 65 yds., 2 TD’s	L, 23-20Michigan State
Martinez, Cameron	Ohio State	SAF	Tackles-  1- total	W, 59-7Akron
Martinez, RJ	NAU	QB	21-37, 208 YDS 14 rushes, 29 yds.	L, 17-10Northern Colorado
Martinez, Marc	Tarleton St.	LB coach		W, 40-21New Mexico Highlands
Martinez, Willie	Tennessee	CB coach		L, 38-14Florida
Mateos, Eric	Baylor	OL		W, 31-29Iowa State
Matthews, Jesse	San Diego St.	WR	2 rec., 13 yds.	W, 48-21Towson
Mejia, Christian	Washington St.	DL	Tackles- 2- total	L, 24-13Utah
Melo, Lucas	Davenport University	Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line		L, 38-0Ferris State
Mendez, Julian	Ottawa University	Offensive Coordinator		L, 78-28Bethel College
Mirabal, Alex	Oregon	OL Coach		W, 41-19Arizona
Montano, Abraham	Fresno State	K	NO STATS	W, 38-30UNLV
Montero, Antonio	Rice	LB	Tackles- 6-total, 3-solo, 1.5- TFL1- PD	W, 48-34Texas Southern
Morales, Kamari	North Carolina	TE	7 rec.,66 yds., 1 TD	L, 45-22Georgia Tech
Navarro, Jaime	San Jose St.	OL	Total offense-291 yards	L, 23-3Western Michigan
Navarro, Juan	NCCU	DL Coach		L, 37-14North Carolina A&T
Navarro, Donny	Illinois	WR	1 rec., 6 yds.2 PR, 7 yds.	L, 13-9Purdue
Nunez, Jay	Eastern Michigan	Sp. TeamsAssoc. HC		W, 59-21Texas State
Olave, Chris	Ohio State	WR	2 rec.,12 yds.	W, 59-7Akron
Ornelas, Jesse	Central Oklahoma	RB Coach		L, 38-0NW Missouri State
Ortega, Josh	UTEP	DE	BYE	W, 20-13New Mexico
Ortega- Jones, Julian	Texas St.	WR	1 rec., 13 yds.	W, 59-21Eastern Michigan
Ortiz, Angel	Ottawa Univ. (AZ)	WR Coach		W, 49-19Louisiana College
Pacheco, Isaih	Rutgers	RB	20 rushes, 107 yds. 2 rec.,14 yds.	L, 20-13Michigan
Padilla, David	Charleston Southern	Ass’t AD for Football		L, 31-28East Carolina
Pagan, Justice	Portland State	LB	3 tackles, 1 – TFL	L, 30-17Montana State
Perales, David	Fresno State	DL	Tackles-3TFL- 1.5Sack- 0.55	W, 38-30UNLV
Ponce, Frank	Appalachian State	Offensive Coordinator		W, 31-30Marshall
Ramirez, Manny	Texas Southern	OL Coach		L, 48-34Rice
Regalado, Marco	Washington State	Director of On-Campus Recruiting		L, 35-24Utah
Restrepo, Xavier	Miami (FL)	WR	4 rec. 75 yds.	W, 69-0Central Connecticut
Reveles, Miguel	La Verne	Offensive Coordinator		BYE
Rivas, Eddie	Texas State	OL	Total Offense  – 448 yards	L, 59-21Eastern Michigan
Rivas- Sandoval, Cesar	Southeastern University	Head Coach		L, 63-14University of the Cumberlands
Rodriguez, Anthony	Portland State	TE	1 rec., 12 yds.	L, 30-17Montana State
Rodriguez, Chris	Kentucky	RB	26 rushes, 144 yds. 2 rec., 5 yds.	W, 16-10 South Carolina
Rodriguez, Drew	Towson St.	QB coach		L, 48-21San Diego State
Rodriguez, Jacob	Virginia	RB	NO STATS	L, 37-17Wake Forest
Rodriguez, Joel	FIU	OL coach		L, 31-27Central Michigan
Rodriguez, Juan	Fresno State	TE	NO STATS	W, 38-30UNLV
Rodriguez, Justin	UTSA	RB	NO STATS	W, 31-28Memphis
Rodriguez, Malcolm	Oklahoma St.	LB	7 tackles, 6-solo, 1-TFL2- QB Hurries	W, 30-21Kansas State
Rodriguez, Oscar	Akron	Assoc. HC/ ILB		L, 59-7Ohio State
Rodriguez, Robert	Arizona St.	DL coach		W, 35-13Colorado
Rojas, Manny	Delaware	Def. Coordinator		BYE
Rubio, Cruz	Cal Poly	LS	NO STATS	L, 39-7Montana
Sanchez, Angel	Montana Tech	CB	Total- 7Solo-3TFL- 1.5	L, 45-21Montana Western
Santa Cruz, Victor	Hawaii	Defensive Ends coach		W, 41-21NM State
Santana, Bryce	New Mexico	DE	Total- 2 tackles, 1- solo	L, 20-14UTEP
Santana, JuanCarlos	Tulsa	WR	7 rec.,78 yds.	W, 41-34Arkansas State
Segura, Justin	NM State	DL	Tackles- 2- total	L, 41-21Hawai’i
Silva, Cesar	Fresno State	K	FG-2/2PAT- 2/2	W, 38-30UNLV
Small, Seth	Texas A&M	K	FG- 1/1PAT- 1/1	L, 20-10Arkansas
Sori-Marin, Mariano	Minnesota	LB	8- Total5- Solo1- PD	L, 14-10Bowling Green
Soto, Anthony	Lenoir-Rhyne	Offensive Coordinator/ /OL		W, 31-16Mars Hill
Steele, Chris	USC	CB	Tackles- 4- total, 1- solo	L, 45-27Oregon State
Umana, Orlando	Ole Miss	OL	NO STATS	BYE
Velazquez, Alonzo	Wyoming	OL	Total offense- 352 yards	W, 24-22UConn
Ybarra, Austin	Montana Tech	LB	NO STATS	L, 45-21Montana Western