Baylor’s bye week doesn’t mean the schedule goes quiet. It just shifts the focus to the Bears’ future opponents, and Week 6 offers a clean little scouting window across the rest of the Big 12 slate.
The first thing to note: Baylor’s Week 7 meeting with TCU is also on hold this week. The Horned Frogs are idle ahead of the Blackout in the Brazos on October 17th, so there’s no televised game there to circle just yet.
Week 8 brings Baylor to Lawrence, where the Bears will face Kansas on October 24th. The Jayhawks head to Utah this week and will be on FOX at 7:00PM CT, giving Baylor a chance to watch what Kansas looks like against the Utes.
A week later, Baylor makes its only Friday appearance of the season, traveling to Orlando, Florida, on October 30th to take on UCF. Before that trip arrives, the Knights are on the road against Oklahoma State, with that one airing on ESPN2 at 11:00 AM CT. That matchup gives a first look at how UCF’s defense handles the Cowboys’ passing game.
The November stretch starts to sharpen the picture even more. Baylor’s penultimate home game comes on November 7th against Iowa State, and the Cyclones already took a hit on Friday night, losing to BYU 24-10. One of the clearest takeaways was Iowa State’s trouble with BYU’s defensive front, as the Cyclones managed less than 3 yards per play on offense.
Then there’s Baylor’s trip to Provo on November 14th to face BYU. The Cougars, without LJ Martin, beat Iowa State 24-10 on Friday night. The big numbers from that one: BYU went 0-3 on 4th down conversions, with two of those tries coming inside the ISU 5-yard line, and the BYU defense never let Iowa State cash in on any of the turnovers.
Texas Tech is next on the list, and Baylor will host the Red Raiders in Waco on November 21st for what will be the Bears’ final home game and penultimate game overall. Texas Tech is also on a bye this week, so there’s no televised game to pull from there.
Baylor closes the regular season at Houston on November 28th, and the Cougars have a useful Week 6 matchup of their own. Houston visits Kansas State on FOX at 2:30 PM CT, giving another look at one of the Bears’ future opponents.
So the viewing schedule for Saturday is pretty straightforward: UCF at Oklahoma State at 11:00 AM CT on ESPN2, Houston at K-State at 2:30 PM CT on FOX, and Kansas at Utah at 7:00 PM CT on FOX. It’s a full day of research, with the chance for the three home teams to finish unbeaten on the day, counting BYU’s win on Friday night.
In Other News...
Baylor Golf Faces A Big Test In A Format That Changes Everything
Baylor mens golf heads to Salt Lake City this week for the Big 12 Match Play Tournament, a three-day event at The Country Club of Salt Lake City that can look nothing like a standard stroke-play week. Instead of chasing a cumulative score from start to finish, the Bears will be navigating pool play from Oct. 12-14, with the format setting up a very different kind of pressure before anyone even reaches the semifinal round.
For Baylor, the challenge begins with the draw and the margin for error that comes with it. The Bears are in Pool D with Kansas, TCU and West Virginia as the No. 13 seed, which means every match will matter in a setting built around momentum, quick swings and the kind of head-to-head battles that can reward a team playing its sharpest golf at the right time. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Soccer Returns Home With Something To Prove Sunday
Baylors soccer team is back at Betty Lou Mays Field on Sunday, and the timing feels right for a little reset at home. The seventh-ranked Bears bring a 10-2-1 record into a noon kickoff against Kansas State, with Aryanna Jimison again expected to be central to what Baylor does. Free admission should help create a lively setting, and those who cant make it will be able to follow along on ESPN+.
Kansas State comes in at 5-4-4, with Gabby Demers among the Wildcats players to watch, but this is also the kind of match Baylor wants to handle cleanly as it settles back into conference play. The Bears have spent much of the fall carrying the burden that comes with national ranking and local expectations, and Sunday offers another chance to reinforce that place near the top while adding a little more clarity to where they stand. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Has A Few Underused Weapons Who Could Change Everything Down Stretch
Baylor heads into the bye week at 4-1 with an offense that has flashed real potential but still feels like it is searching for its clearest identity. As the Bears reset, there is a growing sense that the most meaningful late-season jump may come not from a schematic overhaul, but from getting a few more playmakers involved in ways that better fit what this group can already do.
Jadon Porter has already shown how quickly a modest role can turn into a game-changing one, while Jayden McGowan has also given the staff another option worth expanding. The same goes for the tight end room, where Matthew Klopfenstein and Hawkins Polley offer size and versatility that could help Baylor stress defenses in ways it has not fully tapped into yet, and the next stretch will reveal whether those pieces stay complementary or become central to the offenses finish. [Read more 🡒]