In The Web: What "They" Are Saying About Baylor

It’s been an interesting ride for Baylor (8-4, 6-3) and head coach Dave Aranda this season. After a rough start, things were beginning to look bleak for Aranda and the Bears, but following their first bye week of the season, things have drastically improved in Waco.

To everyone outside of the program, it appeared that Aranda was on the hot seat, and his name was making the circuits as one to keep an eye on when the chopping block began to call. Aranda has been able to silence all of those critics and avoid the fate of Neal Brown, Mack Brown and other coaches who lost their jobs once the regular season came to an end.

Aranda owes a lot to his staff and players for understanding the stakes and finding a way to put it all together. Now that the Bears have found their offensive identity and have become one of the best offenses in the nation.

There is always concern about roster retention in modern college football, but Baylor seems to have the right culture in place and the NIL to back it up at the moment. As quarterback Sawyer Robertson (RJr.) and running back Bryson Washington (RFr.) emerged as stars this season, the Bears should be able to fend off any attempts by programs to poach the duo who earned Big 12 honors in the regular season finale against Kansas.

Baylor had plenty of opportunities this season to work their way into the top 25, but ultimately shot themselves in the foot too many times at the beginning of the season to crack the rankings. As it currently stands, here is where RJ Young of Fox Sports has Baylor ranked among the 134 FBS programs.

Baylor now patiently awaits to see which bowl game they will be sent to and which opponent they will face to cap off the season. There are just a handful of options available for the Bears, but Brett McMurphy of Action Network HQ has Baylor projected to play Arkansas in the Texas Bowl in Houston.