Baylor Football Takes Step Up in National Rankings to No. 16/14

Thanks to its 31-24 victory at Iowa State yesterday, Baylor Football has climbed from No. 17 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls last week to No. 16 and No. 14 respectively.

The Bears climbed over Oklahoma (now No. 18/16) and Arkansas (now No. 20/19) in both polls. The Bears also jumped past Wake Forest (now No. 22/21) in the coaches poll while Washington (now No. 15/18)  jumped Baylor in the AP poll.

The Bears’ opponent this week, Oklahoma State, was idle so they had minimal movement in the polls. The Cowboys stayed at No. 9 in the AP despite Oklahoma’s loss due to Tennessee jumping over them. In the coaches poll, the Cowboys moved up from No. 8 to No. 7 thanks to the Sooners’ loss.

So now in week five, we get a top 16 matchup between the No. 9/7 Oklahoma State Cowboys and the No. 16/14 Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium in Waco.

The matchup had a decent shout for ESPN’s College Gameday or FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff, but those pregame shows are headed to No. 10 North Carolina at No. 5 Clemson and No. 4 Michigan at Iowa respectively. 

Baylor’s game will be at 2:30 on FOX and the main competition in that TV window will be the CBS broadcast of No. 2 Alabama at No. 20/19 Arkansas. ABC’s 2:30 game is No. 22/21 Wake Forest against No. 23/22 Florida State.

Elsewhere in the Big 12, Kansas State earned a No. 25 ranking in the AP poll, but the Wildcats remain unranked in the coaches poll. Kansas was the No. 26 team in the AP poll and the No. 27 team in the coaches poll receiving more votes than KSU. 

Texas dropped out of both polls after their 37-34 OT loss to Texas Tech.