Head Coach: Dave Aranda is entering his 6th season as the head coach of the Bears with a 31-30 record. His tenure has been all over the map. He’s battled through some bad seasons including 2023 but also led Baylor to a Big 12 championship and Sugar Bowl victory in 2021. There’s been challenges along the way, 2020 was a lost year and then Baylor was behind in the NIL game for a while. Now that everyone is in alignment, can Aranda turn Baylor into a Big 12 power?
Program Outlook: Baylor is a program that’s seen much better success in the modern days compared to much of their past. The Bears had a lot of success in the 1950s and had the occasional good season when they were part of the Southwest conference but they struggled immensely when they joined the Big 12, often being the worst team in the conference. Then Robert Griffin III came through and his magical 2011 season really changed the trajectory of the program. Even after he left Baylor became known for some incredible offenses, but then came the infamous scandal that you likely have heard of. Since then Baylor has been less consistent with their peaks and valleys as a program, but they fully intend on being one of the best in the Big 12.
How does the 2025 Roster look?: Baylor ranks 12th in the country returning 68% of their production per Punt and Rally’s returning production rankings. Aranda and co didn’t just sit on that either, they hit the portal for some strategic adds too. Key players for Baylor starts with QB Sawyer Robertson, he got his opportunity due to an injury but once he played it was clear Baylor couldn’t deny his ability. He’s got a nice arm and is a good runner although he’s not asked to run much because the Bears have one of the best RB duos in the conference in Bryson Washington and Dawson Pendergrass. WR Josh Cameron is an electric factory both on offense and special teams, he can change a game in an instant. TE Michael Trigg has immense talent, he caught 30 passes but he could really explode if they got him even more involved. The offensive line did really well in pass protection and has 4 starters back. The defense will be led by LB Keaton Thomas who was All-Big 12 a year ago. Corner Caden Jenkins is really solid but the safeties Devyn Bobby and Carl Williams IV. The defensive line has some experience in Jackie Marshall and Cooper Lanz. The Bears also added portal players to bolster some positions WRs Kobe Prentice (Alabama) and Kole Wilson (Texas State) were great adds to give them more weapons, especially because Ashtyn Hawkins just has his eligibility abruptly ripped away from him. LB Travion Barnes comes from FIU after recording 129 tackles last year. Devin Turner comes in from Northwestern to help add depth to the safety lineup. The biggest question for the Bears is their defensive pass rush? They lost their best players in that department and added some players from the portal that will hopefully help.
Screenshot from FBSchedules.com
2025 Schedule Thoughts: This schedule is tough, especially early. Baylor really put together a challenging non-conference schedule with Auburn at home and SMU on the road. Baylor needs to win one of those. Samford struggled last season at the FCS level and will provide a small break. Baylor’s Big 12 schedule is also front loaded with possibly their 4 toughest conference games right off the bat. The good news? Get past rival TCU with a good record, survive the trap game at the end of it all at Cincinnati and Baylor can finish the year with a lot of momentum.
Final Thoughts: Baylor has all the pieces for a College Football Playoff run but the schedule, especially early presents a barrier to that. For a playoff run the Bears absolutely need to open the season no worse than 1-1 and then survive the opening 4 Big 12 games with no more than 1 additional loss. A 10-2 record would get them in, even with an At-Large. Starting 0-2 would be a danger zone for Baylor because it could quickly snowball into 4-5 losses in the first 7 games.
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