Baylor Football

Gameday Thread: Baylor Welcomes Auburn to Waco for High-Profile Season Opener

Baylor football opens its season with a high-profile non-conference matchup against the Auburn Tigers at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29, at McLane Stadium.
By SicEm365 Staff
August 28, 2025
152k Views
594 Comments
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LISTEN: Key Matchups, Storylines & Predictions For Baylor vs. Auburn Season-Opener

WACO, Texas – Baylor football opens its season with a high-profile non-conference matchup against the Auburn Tigers (-2.5) at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29, at McLane Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on FOX.

  • Spread: Auburn -2.5
  • O/U: 58.5
  • ML: Baylor +110

Stat Breakdown (Baylor vs. Auburn):

  Baylor Auburn
Coach Dave Aranda (31-30) Hugh Freeze (87-61)
Record 0-0 0-0
QB Sawyer Robertson, RSSr.
60.7%, 3,958 yds, 30 TD, 13 INT
100 carries, 299 yards, 5 TDs

Jackson Arnold, So.
62.9%, 1,984 yards, 16 TDs, 6 INT
181 carries, 560 yards, 4 TDs
RB Bryson Washington, RSSo.
185 carries, 1,073 yds, 12 TDs
23 carries, 218 yards, 1 TD

Caden Knighten, Fr.
N/A

Joseph Dodds, RSFr.
N/A

Damari Alston, Sr.
130 carries, 681 yards, 5 TDs
15 rec, 114 yards, 0 TDs

Jeremiah Cobb, Jr.
62 carries, 314 yards, 2 TDs
13 rec, 92 yards, 2 TDs

Durell Robinson, So.
147 carries, 897 yards, 9 TDs
15 rec, 89 yards, 0 TDs
WR

Josh Cameron, RSSr.
101 rec, 1,364 yards, 10 TDs

Ashtyn Hawkins, 6Sr.
186 rec, 2,312 yards, 16 TDs

Kole Wilson, Sr. 
125 rec, 1,643 yards, 13 TDs

Kobe Prentice, Sr.
60 rec, 780 yards, 5 TDs

Louis Brown, Sr.
97 rec, 1,199 yards, 8 TDs

Cam Coleman, So.
37 rec, 598 yards, 8 TDs

Horatio Fields, Sr.
44 rec, 517 yards, 4 TDs

Eric Singleton, Jr.
104 rec, 1,468 yards, 9 TDs

Malcom Simmons, So. 
40 rec, 451 yards, 3 TDs

Perry Thompson, So. 
5 rec, 126 yards, 1 TD
DEF LB, Keaton Thomas, RSJr. 
114 tackles, 7 TFL, 2.5 sacks

S, Devyn Bobby, Sr. 
169 tackles, 4 INT, 4 TFL

DL, Jackie Marshall, RSSr. 
64 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 3.0 sacks

DE, Keldric Faulk, Jr. 
80 tackles, 14.5 TFL, 8.0 sacks

CB, Kayin Lee, So. 
50 tackles, 2 INT, 2 TFL

S, Kaleb Harris, So. 
46 tackles, 3 PBU, 1 TFL
 
594 Comments
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Discussion from...

Gameday Thread: Baylor Welcomes Auburn to Waco for High-Profile Season Opener

76,856 Views | 594 Replies | Last: 2 mo ago by boognish_bear
BUGWBBear
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In reply to canoso • 2:00p, 8/30/25
canoso said:
boognish_bear said:

Maybe the team's "everything" is not enough. Just wondering.


Tarleton St has more heart right now. They beat Army at West Point from 14-down. And earned $250k for the privilege. Somebody better do something yesterday…
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canoso
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In reply to BUGWBBear • 2:04p, 8/30/25
BUGWBBear said:
canoso said:
boognish_bear said:

Maybe the team's "everything" is not enough. Just wondering.


Tarleton St has more heart right now. They beat Army at West Point from 14-down. And earned $250k for the privilege. Somebody better do something yesterday…

Could not possibly agree more. Why not go after Tarleton's coach? Oh, wait, he isn't a shiny enough name. My bad.
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boognish_bear
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4:27p, 8/30/25
This sucked

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bear2be2
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In reply to boognish_bear • 4:48p, 8/30/25
boognish_bear said:
This sucked


That's a brutally bad call. And on arguably the most important play of the game.
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Youre a clown
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In reply to BUGWBBear • 4:51p, 8/30/25
BUGWBBear said:
canoso said:
boognish_bear said:

Maybe the team's "everything" is not enough. Just wondering.


Tarleton St has more heart right now. They beat Army at West Point from 14-down. And earned $250k for the privilege. Somebody better do something yesterday…


Effort has unfortunately been an issue in the past under Dave, but I don't think that's been the case throughout the last several games spanning last season through yesterday. The real issue was that Dave was touted as this cerebral guru kind of guy simply because he has autism and is really introspective and thoughtful. Because of that, the general thought was that Dave would be a force multiplier on the defense, i.e.able to put a consistently decent defense on the field relative to the talent that we are able to land at Baylor. That has simply not been the case. and when a coach's biggest selling point proves to be false, what then? Imagine if we hired Art Briles again, but this time his offense sucked. What exactly is the point? Experiment = fail, unless merely making it to lower tier bowl games is the goal. But even if that is the case, we can find a cheaper option which would allow us to funnel more money back into NIL.
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boognish_bear
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In reply to bear2be2 • 5:11p, 8/30/25
bear2be2 said:
boognish_bear said:
This sucked


That's a brutally bad call. And on arguably the most important play of the game.


I was already clapping and cheering... then saw the damn flag come flying in

I'm curious what Auburn would've done there if the flag didn't come in.
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boognish_bear
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5:23p, 8/30/25
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sahen
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In reply to boognish_bear • 7:51p, 8/30/25
boognish_bear said:


This is a weird take to me. Yeah, they were more talented, but this was a 2 score game that should've been 1 score if not for our coach insisting on trying to score TDs on 4th down in the red zone. If they beat us by 4 scores or something then I could understand this but a middle of the road SEC school beat a middle of the road Big 12 school by a couple of scores. It's not that big of a gap....
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TinFoilHatPreacherBear
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In reply to PartyBear • 8:22p, 8/30/25
PartyBear said:
bear2be2 said:
Doc Holliday said:
bear2be2 said:
Doc Holliday said:
bear2be2 said:
True Grit said:
All I see is 0-1 and we have line and D issues (again).

Our line issues (on both sides) are recruiting issues. Those will likely never be fixed to the level necessary to compete with teams that recruit at Auburn's level.

Then it's pointless to even try to win a national championship.

We're not winning a national championship. Were you under the impression that was a real possibility?

No. I'm under the impression that only a handful of teams can win a national championship and it will never change.

Then we're in complete agreement.

My goals for this program are to compete for Big 12 championships and maybe one day win a playoff game.

Unfortunately, you have to recruit at a higher level than we are capable of to win it all. Like you said, there are only a handful of teams in that tier, and we're not one of them.


I understand what you are saying. However the goal should be to win it all and I'm sure it is and it is for everyone else as well. Whether that is achieved is another issue. Just like prior to 2011 most would say realistically we aren't ever going to recruit a Heisman winner. I personally think if Baylor was not run by idiots in 16, we would have one in our trophy chest already now.

All that to say I really don't think it is impossible for us to win one.




As the prior poster said, win B12, and then Playoff game. Do that consistently and build a brand. Recruiting and $ will follow.

The goal should be to win it all eventually, but we know BU can't get there in short order (unless we have an endless bank account).

The only other way to get there is to get lucky with both recruiting and NIL and get lucky by buying a handful of players that turn out to be incredible.
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boognish_bear
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11:22a, 8/31/25
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BellCountyBear
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11:53a, 8/31/25
The board of regents have Baylor football exactly where they want them. A mid-tier program in a mid-tier conference with well behaved 3-star talent that don't show up on a police report. And a coach that's on the autism spectrum.
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PartyBear
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12:28p, 8/31/25
Why do some of yall do this personal attack stuff on Aranda?

Don't bring the R&P board cess pool BS in lieu of discussion here.
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Guitarbiscuit
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In reply to sahen • 5:19p, 8/31/25
I do sorta see his take. We were manhandled to a large degree. Only thing that kept it close is we have one of the best receiving corps in the country. And this is a game we could have won despite the trench issues.
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boognish_bear
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11:38a, 9/1/25
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historian
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In reply to boognish_bear • 11:42a, 9/1/25
Do why didn't you run Sawyer more?
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Psalm 119:36
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Youre a clown
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In reply to historian • 11:59a, 9/1/25
historian said:
Do why didn't you run Sawyer more?


Dave doesn't feel any pressure to win these types of games. Since 6-6 is the standard, he isn't going to unleash the beast until after the Arizona State game.
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bear2be2
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In reply to PartyBear • 12:02p, 9/1/25
PartyBear said:
Why do some of yall do this personal attack stuff on Aranda?

Don't bring the R&P board cess pool BS in lieu of discussion here.

They also glorify off-field misbehavior as some sort of prerequisite for football success. Most of them are morons.

I've been as critical of Dave Aranda as anyone. There's plenty to critique without getting personal. Those who do so aren't worth taking seriously.
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bear2be2
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In reply to historian • 12:04p, 9/1/25
historian said:
Do why didn't you run Sawyer more?

Probably because if he gets hurt, our season is over.

The only place we might have considered running him that we didn't was on the goal line. Otherwise, we pretty much moved the ball at will without risking injury to our most important offensive player.
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boognish_bear
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12:06p, 9/1/25
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Youre a clown
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12:07p, 9/1/25
You can tell that Auburn really did not pay much attention to Kole Wilson in their preplanning. I came away very impressed with his athleticism
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historian
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In reply to Youre a clown • 4:49p, 9/1/25
On the one hand it makes some sense. OTOH, no program should have a losing mentality. If that's too hard a description then maybe it's complacency. Whatever it is, it's a laser focus on winning which is what the fans want.
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Psalm 119:36
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historian
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In reply to bear2be2 • 4:54p, 9/1/25
bear2be2 said:
historian said:
Do why didn't you run Sawyer more?

Probably because if he gets hurt, our season is over.

The only place we might have considered running him that we didn't was on the goal line. Otherwise, we pretty much moved the ball at will without risking injury to our most important offensive player.

I miss the Briles days when we had a backup QB capable of stepping up when the QB 1 was injured (RGIII in 2011 Tech game, Petty in 2014 SMU game & Tech game, Russell in 2015 Iowa State game & 2016 OU game). We also had great OL's that did a good job of protecting the QB most of the time. Most importantly, we won 50 games 2011-2015, averaging 10 per year.
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Psalm 119:36
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Dia del DougO
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In reply to historian • 4:59p, 9/1/25
historian said:
bear2be2 said:
historian said:
Do why didn't you run Sawyer more?

Probably because if he gets hurt, our season is over.

The only place we might have considered running him that we didn't was on the goal line. Otherwise, we pretty much moved the ball at will without risking injury to our most important offensive player.

I miss the Briles days when we had a backup QB capable of stepping up when the QB 1 was injured (RGIII in 2011 Tech game, Petty in 2014 SMU game & Tech game, Russell in 2015 Iowa State game & 2016 OU game). We also had great OL's that did a good job of protecting the QB most of the time. Most importantly, we won 50 games 2011-2015, averaging 10 per year.


True, but that's really hard everywhere in the current state of free transfers and pay for play.
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."
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historian
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In reply to Dia del DougO • 8:03p, 9/1/25
Yes. CFB is very different today.
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Psalm 119:36
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Guitarbiscuit
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In reply to bear2be2 • 11:30a, 9/2/25
bear2be2 said:
historian said:
Do why didn't you run Sawyer more?

Probably because if he gets hurt, our season is over.

The only place we might have considered running him that we didn't was on the goal line. Otherwise, we pretty much moved the ball at will without risking injury to our most important offensive player.


This. Season over if he goes down.
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Youre a clown
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In reply to Guitarbiscuit • 11:34a, 9/2/25
Guitarbiscuit said:
bear2be2 said:
historian said:
Do why didn't you run Sawyer more?

Probably because if he gets hurt, our season is over.

The only place we might have considered running him that we didn't was on the goal line. Otherwise, we pretty much moved the ball at will without risking injury to our most important offensive player.


This. Season over if he goes down.

Counterpoint: you play to win the game (presumably), and injuries happen every season. That implies in my mind that there really wasn't any kind of pressure for Dave to win this game. Hugh freeze on the other hand knows that his seat is boiling hot if he loses to Baylor. It's the difference between a team that has expectations, versus a team that doesn't have them.
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Guitarbiscuit
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In reply to Youre a clown • 11:48a, 9/2/25
I see what you're saying. But still say that defense is and will be out main problem this season. If I were Aranda, I would have mixed in a run or 2. But I'm not. I do not look forward to another year where a coach is unable to make obvious adjustments.
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Jack Bauer
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12:03p, 9/2/25
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boognish_bear
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7:59p, 9/2/25
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boognish_bear
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8:32p, 9/6/25
Through a half Jackson Arnold has 7 runs for -1 yards against Ball St
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historian
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In reply to boognish_bear • 8:43a, 9/7/25
boognish_bear said:
Through a half Jackson Arnold has 7 runs for -1 yards against Ball St
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Psalm 119:36
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Karab
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In reply to boognish_bear • 8:56a, 9/7/25
boognish_bear said:
Through a half Jackson Arnold has 7 runs for -1 yards against Ball St


They had zero need to risk running Arnold against Ball St. Arnold ran against us because it's what we gave him.
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boognish_bear
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9:53p, 9/8/25
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boognish_bear
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12:13p, 9/28/25
Auburn is now 0-2 in SEC play and facing Georgia in their next game. Good chance they start 0-3 in conference play. They get #20 Mizzou after that.

They were competitive against #11 OU and #9 Aggy...but couldn't get it done at the end.
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