Baylor’s early-season progress hasn’t changed the bigger picture for everyone around the college football bowl world, at least not yet. After a 36-19 win over LA Tech in Week 3, Dave Aranda’s team is 2-1 and heading into the start of Big 12 play with a home game against Colorado, a team that was just toasted by Northwestern.
Even with Baylor showing signs of being a different group than the one that finished 5-7 last season, the Bears are showing up in only a couple of major bowl projections after three weeks. That’s despite the fact that DJ Lagway is back this weekend and despite the idea that Baylor could be tough to stop when everything is rolling.
ESPN’s two analysts both have Baylor in a bowl game, and one of the more interesting possibilities is a matchup with Maryland. That would send Baylor to College Park in 2027 to face the Terrapins, creating a quick turnaround between the two programs and pairing two offenses that can move the ball. Malik Washington can sling it for Maryland, and Lagway’s ability is already well known.
The ESPN projections also include Minnesota, another Big Ten team that sits at 2-1 after beating two lower-level opponents and getting blown out by Mississippi State in Week 2. Minnesota is usually built on defense first, with an offense that tends to be more ordinary, so that matchup would put Baylor’s attack against the Gophers’ defense at the center of the conversation.
Pro Football Network went in a different direction and landed on a matchup that would carry a little extra buzz: Florida. The Gators, now ranked after beating Auburn this past weekend, are Lagway’s former school, which gives that pairing a built-in layer of anticipation if it ever comes to pass.
Lagway spent two seasons at Florida and had a rough second year under Billy Napier. At Baylor, he’s looking to clean up the turnover issues that followed him in Gainesville. A bowl meeting would put the spotlight on both sides of that story, with Baylor needing to slow Florida’s offense and Florida trying to contain Lagway’s arm and the weapons he has outside.
For now, though, the list of bowl projections that includes Baylor is still short. Sites such as On3, Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports and Athlon Sports do not have the Bears in their projected bowls after three weeks, which suggests they are not yet sold on Baylor getting to six wins.
That skepticism is easy to understand coming off last year’s record, but Baylor does look different right now. The Bears get their conference slate started this weekend, and a win over Colorado could give them the momentum they need to keep building.
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Ole Miss Faces A Huge Florida Question With Kewan Lacy Uncertain
Ole Miss left Week 3 with some relief after Kewan Lacys shoulder injury came back as not expected to be long term, but the Rebels still have a decision to navigate as they turn toward Florida. The running back was scheduled for a week of monitoring after his MRI, which keeps his status in flux heading into a matchup that could ask plenty of the Ole Miss ground game.
Floridas defense will be watching the same updates closely, because Lacys availability could shape how Ole Miss attacks the Gators. If he cannot go, JT Lindsey is the name most likely to pick up the carries, leaving one of the Rebels more important backfield questions hanging over the week. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Has One Costly Problem To Fix Before Ole Miss
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Discipline has become the obvious pressure point for the Gators, with Sumrall stressing the need to cut down on penalties and play with more urgency. He also singled out Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss as a real challenge, which only raises the margin for error in a matchup where Florida will need sharp execution from the start and attention to every small thing. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas Hot Start Is About To Face The Only Test That Matters
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Now comes the part of the calendar that will say far more about this group than the opening stretch did. Ole Miss, Texas and Georgia are all waiting on the schedule, and each one brings a different kind of pressure, which is what makes this next phase so intriguing for Florida. The Gators have shown enough to merit attention, but the next few weeks will reveal whether this start is the beginning of something bigger or just a strong opening run. [Read more 🡒]