Baylor picked up two more Big 12 weekly honors Monday, with quarterback DJ Lagway and running back Ryelan Morris earning conference recognition after the Bears’ 55-19 rout at Arizona State.
Lagway landed one of the Big 12’s Offensive Player of the Week spots, while Morris was named Freshman of the Week after both played key roles in Baylor’s most lopsided conference showing of the season. The Bears piled up 564 yards of offense and scored 55 points, the highest total by any Big 12 team in a conference game so far in 2026.
In his third start for Baylor, Lagway delivered the kind of stat line that turns heads across the league. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 306 yards and a career-best four touchdown throws, then added an 11-yard rushing touchdown for his second career score on the ground. That made him the 11th different Bear in program history to score at least five touchdowns in a game.
Lagway also posted his fourth 300-yard passing game overall and his second of the season. He distributed the ball to 10 different receivers and connected with four different players for touchdowns, giving Baylor’s offense a balanced and explosive edge throughout the night.
Morris brought instant energy to the ground game. He finished with 84 rushing yards and his first career touchdown, punctuated by a 63-yard scoring burst on Baylor’s second drive. It came on the Bears’ fifth play from scrimmage and gave the offense a jolt right away.
Morris shared the team lead in rushing with sophomore Caden Knighten, who also ran for 84 yards. Together, they helped Baylor total 244 rushing yards, the program’s most in a Big 12 game since Nov. 2, 2024, against TCU, when the Bears ran for 257.
The weekly recognition gave Baylor its second and third Big 12 awards of the 2026 season, and it extended the program’s run to three straight seasons with at least three weekly conference honors. Lagway’s selection was Baylor’s 29th all-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week award, while Morris became the school’s second Big 12 Freshman of the Week honoree since the conference began giving out that award in 2025.
In Other News...
Baylor Vs TCU Just Got A Bigger Stage Than Fans Expected
Baylors midseason meeting with TCU just picked up a little more shine. The Big 12 announced that the rivalry game in Waco will kick off at 6 p.m. CT in Week 7 and air on FS1, giving the Bears a prime-night backdrop for a matchup that already carries plenty of weight in conference play. Baylor enters at 4-1, and the program also plans to lean into the occasion with blackout uniforms for the occasion.
The timing only adds to the intrigue for a series that has delivered its share of memorable moments over the years. With both the current seasons momentum and the history between the two programs in play, this one was already going to matter inside the league race. Now it will do so under the lights, with a little more attention than fans may have expected when the schedule first came out. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Just Sent A Strong Message About What This Team Can Be
Baylors latest result did more than add another win to the ledger. It gave a clearer picture of what this group can look like when it puts together a complete performance, and that matters in a Big 12 race where every week seems to reshape the conversation. The Bears decisive victory over Arizona State stood out in a weekend that also featured TCU pushing BYU to the wire and Pittsburgh beating Virginia Tech despite losing starting quarterback Mason Heintschel to a torn ACL.
The broader ripple effect is easy to see from here, too. BYU is headed to UCF soon and arrives ranked No. 8 in the AP poll after surviving that tight game against TCU, while Pittsburghs rise into the AP Top 25 shows how quickly the national picture can shift. Baylors performance, though, may have been the most convincing reminder that this team still has a higher ceiling than its record sometimes suggests, and the next few weeks will go a long way toward proving whether that message holds up. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona State Got Picked Apart Where It Hurt Most Against Baylor
Baylors rout of Arizona State was built on efficiency where it mattered most, and the Bears made the Sun Devils pay every time the field got tight. In a 55-19 win, Baylor turned seven of eight red-zone trips into touchdowns, a decisive edge that kept the pressure on and never let Arizona State settle in. Quarterback DJ Lagway, back from an ankle injury, was at the center of it, matching or setting career bests with four passing touchdowns and a rushing score while operating comfortably in the condensed space near the goal line.
The encouraging part for Baylor is how much cleaner the offense looked with Lagway moving well again and finding receivers in rhythm. His red-zone success showed both his improved mobility and the timing he has built with his targets, and several key plays came at moments when Arizona State needed a stop to stay within reach. Baylor didnt just win because it moved the ball, it won because it finished drives, and that difference was as stark as the score. [Read more 🡒]