Seven weeks into the life of EA Sports College Football 27, the conversation around Baylor has shifted from ratings gripes to the more interesting question: what does a season actually look like when you take control of the Bears in Dynasty mode?
The short answer is this: Baylor can be a lot more dangerous than its 79-overall label suggests.
That’s because the roster has a few pieces that can change the whole feel of a save. Defensive tackle Hosea Wheeler and receiver Jayden McGowan sit at the top of the team at 84 overall, while running back Dawson Pendergrass and quarterback DJ Lagway are right behind them at 83. Lagway, in particular, jumps off the page with 88 speed, 91 acceleration and 99 throw power, the kind of traits that make a user-controlled quarterback far more explosive than the rest of the roster might imply.
The broader Dynasty setup is a mixed bag. Baylor checks in as a 2.5-star program and starts with 3,385 total Dynasty Points, including 1,155 available at the outset. Those points aren’t real NIL money; in College Football 27, they’re the annual pool used for NIL, coaching staff and facilities.
But Baylor also gets a real recruiting edge thanks to geography. The Bears have a Tier 5 East Texas pipeline, a Tier 3 North Texas pipeline and a Tier 2 Southwest Texas pipeline, which gives them access to one of the best talent-rich regions in the game.
That combination makes Baylor feel like a true middle-class rebuild - not a blueblood, not a hopeless project.
Using Baylor’s 2026 schedule, current in-game roster and All-American difficulty, Baylor on SI ran a full simulation and landed on a 9-4 finish. The Bears went 6-3 in Big 12 play, placed fourth in the league and ended the year ranked 19th in the AP top 25. They were 8-4 in the regular season before beating Clemson 34-30 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
The season belonged to Lagway. He threw for 3,766 yards on 283 completions in 425 attempts, with 30 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions.
On the ground, he added 802 rushing yards and nine more scores, finishing with 4,568 total yards and 39 touchdowns responsible for. That performance brought first-team All-Big 12 honors, Big 12 Newcomer of the Year recognition, a Davey O’Brien Award finalist nod and a trip to the Heisman ceremony.
Pendergrass gave the offense another big lift after returning from last year’s season-ending injury, piling up 1,284 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. McGowan turned into the clear No. 1 receiver with 70 catches for 1,026 yards and nine touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, Travion Barnes led the team with 118 tackles, Wheeler finished with 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss, and LeVar Thornton Jr. picked off four passes.
The results came in waves, which made the simulation feel believable. Baylor opened with a 27-24 loss to Auburn, won three straight after that, then dropped a game at Arizona State.
The Bears followed that with four straight Big 12 wins before losses to BYU and Texas Tech knocked them out of the conference championship picture. A 38-27 win at Houston steadied things before the bowl win over Clemson.
Baylor’s recruiting finish was strong as well. Extending the sim through the season and into the transfer portal cycle, Baylor on SI had the Bears land the 27th-ranked class nationally and fifth in the Big 12. The class included 22 players, with seven four-star prospects, and was built heavily through those Texas pipelines.
A 9-4 season would ease the pressure on Dave Aranda’s theoretical hot seat and would also clear the bar previously set by new athletic director Doug McNamee. In the real world, the bigger takeaway is what this kind of season could mean if Baylor can turn Lagway’s growth, better recruiting and some added momentum into a Year 2 push for the Big 12 title.
In Other News...
Baylor Is Bringing Back A Game Day Tradition Fans Remember
Baylor is reaching back into its past for a familiar touchpoint on game days, bringing the Bear Bell tradition back for the 2026 football season. Baylor Athletics said the bell, first introduced in 1972 during Coach Grant Teaffs tenure, will once again be part of the home-game experience, ringing after Baylor touchdowns and showing up during the Bear Walk.
The redesigned bell, with support from Sigma Chi and Baylor Student Activities, is set to make its first appearance Sept. 12, 2026, against Prairie View A&M. For fans who remember the old ritual, it adds a little more pageantry to McLane Stadium Saturdays and gives the program another link to the sort of traditions that tend to stick with a fan base long after the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Is Suddenly In The Hunt For A Massive 5-Star Prize
A major frontcourt recruiting battle is starting to take shape around Lewis Uvwo, the 6-foot-11 center from the Class of 2027 who sits No. 7 nationally and No. 1 at his position in 247Sports rankings. Uvwo has lined up official visits to Kentucky, Providence, California and Baylor, with the Bears set to get him on campus Aug. 28 before the rest of the itinerary unfolds in September.
For Baylor, the appeal is obvious. Uvwos calling card is his defense, especially as a rim protector and rebounder, and Scott Drews reputation for developing NBA talent gives the Bears a real selling point in a race that figures to get crowded quickly. Getting him to Waco this early is only part of the challenge, but its enough to keep Baylor squarely in the mix for one of the class biggest prizes. [Read more 🡒]
Baylors Pressure-Filled Reset Puts New Faces At Center Of 2025
Dave Aranda heads into his seventh season at Baylor with the kind of roster turnover that usually signals more than just a routine reset. After 32 players transferred out in the offseason, the Bears are leaning hard on a new wave of arrivals, with transfer quarterback DJ Lagway and freshman London Smith among the names quickly drawing attention as the program tries to reshape itself for 2025.
The pressure is obvious, because the conversation around Baylor now goes beyond simply replacing production. It is about whether the culture can hold, whether the newcomers can settle in fast enough, and whether a coach who needs results can turn a roster in flux into a team that looks ready by fall. Smith, in particular, adds another layer of anticipation as the Bears wait to see how much he can change the feel of this season before it even starts. [Read more 🡒]