Baylor’s 55-19 dismantling of Arizona State on Saturday didn’t just push the Bears to 4-1. It also gave a much clearer picture of what this offense can look like when it’s humming.
The Bears piled up 564 total yards and scored seven offensive touchdowns in the road win, their most complete showing of the season. DJ Lagway was the engine, throwing for 306 yards and accounting for five total touchdowns, four of them through the air. Baylor also got a big lift from the ground game, with Caden Knighten and Ryelan Morris each ripping off touchdown runs of more than 60 yards.
With Week 6 approaching, the bowl picture is starting to take shape, and Baylor is popping up in a few different spots.
ESPN’s two bowl experts both landed Baylor in Memphis, though they didn’t agree on the opponent. One projection pairs the Bears with Missouri, which is coming off a 45-17 win over then-No.
8 Florida. The Tigers put up 551 total yards in that one, with Austin Simmons passing for 340 yards and Jamal Roberts piling up 211 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
That would shape up as a matchup with real fireworks. Baylor just showed against Arizona State how dangerous it can be when Lagway is efficient and careful with the football, and matching scores with a Missouri team coming off its best offensive game of the season would likely demand another sharp outing.
The other ESPN projection sends Baylor against Oklahoma, a very different kind of test. The Sooners were idle in Week 5 and sit at 2-2 before their Red River game with No.
1 Texas. Their latest game was a 41-13 loss to Georgia, a night that got uglier thanks to four turnovers that turned into 17 points.
That kind of game would put Baylor’s newly sharpened offense against a defense that could make life difficult. It would also bring back an old Big 12 meeting just three seasons after Oklahoma left for the SEC.
On3 has Baylor facing another SEC opponent, and this one stays in Texas. Mississippi State took its first loss Saturday, falling 56-23 to Alabama after opening 4-0.
That projection sets up a game that could lean on Baylor’s passing attack. Alabama threw for 304 yards against Mississippi State, and Lagway just put up 306 passing yards and four touchdown throws against Arizona State. With Gavin Freeman established as the top target and other receivers getting involved, Baylor has options in the air.
The other end of the field matters just as much. Baylor has not given up more than 20 points in any game this season, and that makes a Texas Bowl matchup feel like it could come down to whether the Bears can keep Mississippi State out of the end zone.
College Football News sends Baylor west for a meeting with an undefeated Big Ten team. Nebraska moved to 5-0 with a 48-23 win over Maryland on Saturday, scoring the final 34 points after trailing 23-14.
Anthony Colandrea would be a tough quarterback assignment for Baylor. He threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns against Maryland and added 108 rushing yards, giving defenses a problem both ways.
Still, Baylor would have a chance to make plays of its own. Maryland rolled up 300 yards before halftime against Nebraska, but the Cornhuskers held the Terrapins to just 95 after the break. Baylor, meanwhile, is coming off its season-high 564-yard performance against Arizona State.
Athlon Sports keeps Baylor closer to home for a familiar postseason opponent. Air Force is 3-1 after a 14-9 win over Navy, a game in which the Falcons rushed for 188 yards and controlled the ball for more than 36 minutes.
That kind of opponent would force Baylor into a very different style than its usual Big 12 track meet. Air Force wants to run the ball, chew clock and shorten games, which makes early stops especially important for a Baylor offense that has shown it can strike quickly. The Bears just held Arizona State to 99 rushing yards, which offers at least some encouragement against a run-heavy team.
There’s also a bit of history attached to that projection. Air Force beat Baylor 30-15 in the 2022 Armed Forces Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium, and a rematch four years later would give the Bears a shot to reverse that result in the same building.
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 🡒]
Baylors Arizona State Breakout Just Turned Into Something Bigger
DJ Lagway and Ryelan Morris turned Baylors trip to Arizona State into a showcase, and the Big 12 took notice. The junior quarterback and freshman running back were both honored for Week 5 after helping the Bears roll to a 55-19 win, with Lagway earning Offensive Player of the Week and Morris taking home Freshman of the Week.
Lagway piled up 306 passing yards and accounted for five total touchdowns, giving Baylor the kind of efficient, explosive night it has been chasing. Morris added another layer to the rout with 84 rushing yards and the first touchdown of his career, a strong follow-up that gives the Bears more reason to feel good about their young backfield as the season settles in. [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 🡒]