A lopsided win over Prairie View A&M didn’t do much to move Baylor in the eyes of the national pollsters.
The Bears rolled past the Panthers after opening a 17-3 lead by the end of the first quarter and nearly doubling that cushion by halftime. Even without starting quarterback DJ Lagway and starting center Koltin Sieracki, Baylor’s offense still piled up big numbers, a sign the unit may keep humming against a schedule that doesn’t appear to feature many defensive fronts as tough as Auburn’s.
Still, beating an FCS opponent by a wide margin wasn’t going to rewrite the national conversation. Baylor’s Week 1 loss to Auburn had already done little to lift its profile, and Week 2’s blowout didn’t change that. The Bears received no votes in the AP Top 25 for the second straight week, and that could remain the case until they start stacking wins in conference play.
There was at least a small bump in ESPN’s FPI. Baylor moved up a few spots and now sits just behind two other Big 12 teams, Cincinnati and Houston. The Bears’ next opponent, Louisiana Tech, is ranked No. 94 in that metric.
The Athletic’s rankings were more puzzling. Baylor climbed 20 spots a week earlier despite losing to Auburn, then slid back three spots after beating Prairie View A&M, landing at No. 38.
CBS Sports left Baylor out of its latest power rankings, just as it had in the previous edition. Baylor will try to keep building momentum in Week 3, when it enters as the favorite against Louisiana Tech, though the margin for error will be tighter than it was last Saturday.
In Other News...
Dave Aranda Sees One Baylor Problem That Win Didn't Fix
A 44-3 win over Prairie View A&M gave Baylor a comfortable result, but it did not completely quiet Dave Arandas concerns. Afterward, the Bears coach pointed to penalties and turnovers as issues that still need cleaning up, a reminder that the bigger tests will punish the kinds of mistakes Baylor could absorb in a lopsided nonconference game.
Aranda also had a mixed set of roster updates as the Bears turn their attention to the next one. Quarterback DJ Lagway and center Koltin Sierck are expected back for the upcoming game, while defensive tackle Devonte Tezino is out for the season with a severe leg injury. In the middle of it all, Aranda singled out transfer defensive tackle Hosea Wheeler for the leadership and toughness he has brought to the group. [Read more 🡒]
Dave Aranda Just Put Baylors Biggest Early Problem On Notice
Early in the season, Dave Aranda is already leaning on one of the most basic truths in football: Baylor cannot keep beating itself. After a start defined in part by frustrating offensive penalties and giveaways, the Bears coach used his latest media session to zero in on the kinds of mistakes that stall drives and shrink margins, especially when they come from the offensive line and from quarterback decisions that lead to interceptions.
Arandas message was less about panic than about urgency, and that is what makes it worth watching going forward. Baylor still has time to settle in, but the standard he laid out was clear - cleaner execution, better consistency and fewer self-inflicted errors have to show up soon if the offense is going to look like a unit moving in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]
Baylors Early Offensive Problems Are Getting Hard To Ignore
After two games, Baylor is sitting at 1-1, and the early tape has already pointed to a few areas that cant be brushed aside for long. Penalties have been part of the problem, the offensive line has had to work through injuries, and the passing game still looks like it is searching for a cleaner distribution. There have been individual bright spots on both sides of the ball, but the bigger picture is a team that needs more cohesion as the season settles in.
The next step is especially clear on offense, where better third-down production would ease some of the pressure on fourth-down decisions and give the unit more control of drives. Baylor has enough pieces to suggest improvement is coming, but the challenge now is turning scattered success into something more reliable. For a team with bigger goals ahead, these early issues are the kind that can linger if they are not cleaned up quickly. [Read more 🡒]