Big 12 schedule day brought a clearer picture of Baylor’s 2026-27 path, and the draw looks workable if the Bears can take care of business early.
The league released conference matchups on Thursday, giving Baylor its full Big 12 slate for the season. The Bears will have three home-and-home series, facing UCF, Colorado and Kansas both at home and on the road.
Kansas is Kansas, of course, but Baylor also landed a favorable setup with UCF and Colorado. Last season, the Knights sat in the middle of the pack in the Big 12, while the Buffaloes finished 7-11.
Going into the new year, power rankings point to both teams as possible bottom feeders.
One scheduling note that won’t sit well with Baylor fans: the Bears will not get TCU home and away. Instead, Baylor will visit TCU on Jan. 19.
The front half of conference play is manageable, though it is not exactly soft. Baylor opens Big 12 action at home against Kansas State, then heads to Texas Tech before welcoming Houston to Waco.
After that stretch, the road opens up a bit. If Baylor is already playing well by then, the next five games could be there to be taken.
The back end is where things get serious. Baylor closes with Iowa State at home, then travels to Arizona and Arizona State before ending the regular season against Kansas.
Arizona State is the one team in that group that feels more uncertain, but the Cyclones, Wildcats and Jayhawks are all expected to be competitive. That final four-game run could decide whether Baylor stays in the Big 12 race or gets left chasing.
How Baylor handles non-conference play will matter too, but based strictly on the conference slate, Scott Drew’s team appears to have gotten a solid draw.
In Other News...
Baylors Quarterback Uncertainty Just Got Bigger Entering Week 3
Baylors quarterback picture has only gotten murkier as the season moves into Week 3, with DJ Lagways injury adding another layer to a situation the Bears were already watching closely. In a Big 12 slate that keeps handing out stress tests at the most important position, Baylor now finds itself grouped with a conference-wide discussion about who is thriving, who is still settling in, and who has more questions than answers heading into another round of league play.
The broader quarterback conversation around the Big 12 has been lively through two weeks, from UCFs Alonza Barnett dealing with his own injury issue to Oklahoma States Drew Mestemaker turning in a notable performance that helped reshape the early rankings. Baylors place in that top-eight pecking order is still being sorted out, and with conference matchups looming in Week 3, the Bears are left waiting to see whether their situation stabilizes or becomes an even bigger storyline than it already is. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Suddenly Has A DJ Lagway Problem It Cant Ignore
Baylors quarterback picture has become a lot murkier heading into Week 3, with DJ Lagway considered doubtful against Louisiana Tech after suffering an ankle injury in the season opener. The Bears were already managing the usual early-season uncertainty, but now the focus has shifted to how they handle a potential absence from the player they were counting on to settle the position.
If Lagway cant go, Nate Bennett is expected to make his second career start, which would put even more pressure on a Baylor offense trying to find rhythm this early in the year. The broader concern is the recovery itself, since Lagway is still working back from a high-ankle sprain and his return timeline remains unclear, leaving Baylor without much certainty at the most important spot on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor WBB Schedule Puts This Loaded Roster On Notice
The Big 12 has already mapped out Baylors 2026-27 path, and it looks every bit like a schedule that will ask a lot from a roster expected to have serious depth. The Bears open conference play at Houston and finish the regular season at home against TCU, giving them an early road test and a late rivalry game that could matter plenty in the league race. Along the way, the league slate and non-conference dates give a clearer picture of how the season will be framed around a group that is set to blend returning players with new transfers.
For Baylor, the release is more than a calendar update because it offers the first real outline of how a loaded roster will be challenged before March arrives. The mix of conference trips, home dates and non-conference positioning should give the Bears no shortage of chances to prove they can handle the expectations that come with being one of the Big 12s most watched teams. The questions now are less about who Baylor has and more about how quickly that talent settles in once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]