Baylor’s season has already taken a few sharp turns, but the Bears enter the bye week riding a four-game winning streak after the blowout win over ASU in Tempe, Arizona. With that momentum in hand, it’s a good time to take another look at how the eight position groups stack up now that the season has moved beyond fall camp.
At the top of the list, the defensive line has made the loudest case for being Baylor’s best unit. That group was supposed to be one of the team’s biggest upgrades after a heavy investment in additions like defensive end Garrick Ponder and nose tackle Hosea Wheeler, and it has delivered in a big way.
The Bears already have 18 sacks in five games, which is more than last season’s total of 12. The pressure up front has been the engine behind the defense’s success, and Baylor has held every opponent under 20 points through five games.
The wide receivers have been just as reliable, even as the Bears have dealt with injuries, backup quarterbacks, and uneven offensive stretches. Fifth-year Gavin Freeman has been the headliner with 479 yards in five games, but he’s hardly carrying the load alone.
Louis Brown IV, Jayden McGowan, and other pass-catchers have helped the group pile up 12 touchdowns and more than 1200 yards. When the run game hasn’t gotten going, the ball has consistently found Freeman and the rest of that room.
Quarterback and receiver together have been a strong combination for Baylor, with Nate Bennett and DJ Lagway both drawing praise for how they’ve handled their roles. Bennett has been the ideal “next man up,” while Lagway has shown the kind of presence that can keep the Bears in games against just about anyone. There are still questions around Lagway, and Baylor needs him to stay healthy, but outside of the first half against Auburn, he has been one of the best players on the field and appears to be thriving in the Spavital offense.
The secondary has benefited from the havoc created up front, but it has still done plenty on its own. Yes, the group gives up more yards and longer drives than it should at times, but it remains a major part of why Baylor’s defense has been so hard to deal with. Micah Gifford, Bo Onu Jr., Devon Jordan, and others have piled up tackles while also holding up in coverage, and the red zone numbers stand out too: only six touchdowns allowed on 16 redzone trips.
Linebacker was one of the biggest question marks entering the year after a major offseason rebuild, but that uncertainty has been pushed aside for now. Travion Barnes leads the team in total tackles, and Kyland Reed is tied for third. The group can leave some openings in pass coverage, but it also brings a punishing blitz package, something Baylor showed off against Arizona State.
The running backs sit lower on the list than some might expect, though that reflects how little they were able to get going before the ASU game. Poor blocking played a role, but the production wasn’t there for much of the opening stretch.
Even so, this feels like a room with real upside. Baylor has four backs who can break out at any time, and there’s plenty to like about “the outlaws.”
The offensive line has also had to go through a major reset, keeping only one starter from last season. Injuries forced constant shuffling, and for the first four games, that unit was a clear problem.
The run game rarely found traction, and the pocket was often collapsing around the Baylor quarterback. Since the fourth quarter against Colorado, though, the group seems to have found something, moving opposing defensive lines and opening the door for Dawson Pendergrass and the other backs to work on the ground.
At the bottom of the rankings, the tight ends were close to invisible through four games. That changed against the Sun Devils, when Tony Livingston and Hawkins Polley both caught touchdowns.
Before Week 5, though, there were too many dropped passes and not nearly enough impact in the blocking game. If that group can keep blocking and become a real red zone option for Lagway, it should climb in these rankings before long.
In Other News...
Baylors Backfield Strength Is Starting To Feel Like A Real Concern
Baylors backfield has quietly become one of the more interesting parts of its offense through the first five games, not because one runner has taken over, but because the staff keeps finding reasons to use multiple backs. Dawson Pendergrass has handled the most carries, while Ryelan Morris and Caden Knighten have both made their presence felt with explosive plays, including long touchdown runs. The approach fits an offense that has leaned almost evenly between the run and the pass, and it has helped the Bears keep bodies fresh as the season wears on.
The rotation has also been shaped by injuries and shifting roles, which makes the workload even less predictable from week to week. For Baylor, though, that uncertainty has mostly been a positive, since the depth in the backfield has given the offense a steady stream of options and big-play potential. The question now is whether that committee approach can keep producing in the same way once the schedule gets tougher and the wear and tear starts to matter more. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Enters Baylor Week With One Rivalry Pressure Point Looming
TCU heads into its bye week carrying a 2-3 record and an 0-2 start in Big 12 play, a disappointing position for a team that still has time to reset before the stretch run. The defense has held up well at times, but the offense has been hard to trust against Power Four competition, and the disconnect has fueled plenty of conversation about what might change when the Horned Frogs return to work.
A lot of that scrutiny will only grow once Baylor week arrives, because the next game looms as a rivalry test that can sharpen every question around the program. The coaching staff has options to consider on how it wants to handle the offense after the off week, and with pressure rising, how TCU answers on that side of the ball could shape the tone well beyond mid-October. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Volleyball Is Getting A National Spotlight Fans Can Feel
Ksenia Rakhmanchiks strong season is drawing attention well beyond Waco, with Baylor volleyballs top offensive threat landing on the AVCA Division I Womens Volleyball Player of the Year Watch List. The recognition puts her in a small national pool of players being considered for one of the sports biggest individual honors, a sign that her production has been hard to ignore as the season has unfolded.
Rakhmanchik has been among the Big 12s most productive attackers and sits among the nations most efficient scorers in several offensive areas during the 2026 season. For Baylor, the watch-list nod is another marker of how far the programs profile can rise when one player is forcing opponents to game-plan around her every night. [Read more 🡒]