"What we'll do is move forward as a team," Briles said Monday during the Big 12 coaches teleconference. "Our image may change a little bit, but the determination won't."
An MRI on Sunday showed Griffin has an "isolated tear" in the ACL of his right knee. The dual-threat sophomore got hurt when he was stopped for no gain on a fourth-down play early in the Bears' 68-13 victory over Northwestern State on Saturday night.
Making things more unsettling for the Bears (2-1) is that backup quarterback Blake Szymanski suffered a bruised right (throwing) shoulder after taking over for Griffin in the second half. He is listed as day-to-day.
"We really are not sure whether he's going to be able to play or not this weekend," Briles said. "What we've got to do is get that (swelling) out to where he can get some range of motion in his throwing arm."
If Szymanski can't play, freshman Nick Florence will start Saturday against Kent State, the Bears' final non-conference game. They play at eighth-ranked Oklahoma on Oct. 10.
Baylor's Mikail Baker, a senior defensive back and kick returner, also suffered a season-ending knee injury Saturday night.
Baylor came into this season hoping for their first bowl game since 1994, an expectation based largely on the return of Griffin, who as an 18-year-old Copperas Cove freshman last season accounted for 28 TDs (15 passing, 13 rushing) and 934 total yards (2,091 passing, 843 rushing).
Now they will be without Griffin as they try to end the 15-year postseason drought, which matches Duke for the longest for a team playing in a Football Bowl Subdivision conference, and post their first winning season since 1995.
Griffin didn't miss a snap before halftime Saturday night. He got his knee heavily wrapped while Northwestern State drove for its only touchdown and a 7-0 lead, then came back and led the Bears to four touchdowns in an eight-minute span - and six TDs overall. The Bears led 41-10 before Griffin watched the second half from the sideline.
Griffin finished 13-of-19 passing for 226 yards and three TDs, all the scores coming after he was hurt. He was 11-of-14 for 198 yards following the opening series when he got hurt.
Briles said Griffin would have surgery, but wasn't sure when. That timing will determine whether the quarterback will be back in time for spring practice.
"What we're going to do is rehab a couple of weeks and check the stability of the knee," Briles said. "But there will be surgery at one time or another."
The coach said Griffin was handling the situation "very well."
"Robert is a very mature young man. He's always had a plan, he's always had vision," Briles said. "He's got a plan in place, we've got a plan in place. He'll grow from it, and we'll grow from it, and a few months down the road, it will all be fine."
Florence, a freshman from Garland who went through spring drills after enrolling at Baylor in January, played the fourth quarter Saturday without throwing a pass. Szymanski started as a sophomore in 2007, the season before Briles and Griffin arrived, and set school records with 2,844 yards passing and 22 TDs.
"What he brings is a weathered veteran mentality," Briles said. "Blake's a guy that, he's been through some storms and he's survived. He brings a workmanlike, tough-guy mentality to the game."
