Baylor Football

Game Thread: Baylor Football Opens Conference Play in Waco against Colorado

Bears open Big 12 play against Colorado.
By SicEm365 Staff
September 25, 2026
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SICEM365 GAME THREAD

Baylor vs. Colorado

2026 Big 12 Opener • Throwback Uniforms
Saturday, September 26, 2026 • 11:00 a.m. CT • ESPN2
McLane Stadium • Waco, TX • Home
Records Baylor 2-1 (0-0 Big 12) | Colorado 2-1 (0-0 Big 12)
Coaches Dave Aranda (Year 7) vs. Deion Sanders (Year 4)
Kickoff 11:00 a.m. CT / 12:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. MT
TV ESPN2 — Lowell Galindo, Kirk Morrison, Dawn Davenport
Radio John Morris, Geff Gandy, Bryson Jackson • KRZI 1660 AM / 92.3 FM
Stream ESPN2 / ESPN app • BaylorBears.com radio
Series Colorado leads 10-7 • CU 4-2 in Waco
Last meeting Colorado 38, Baylor 31 (2OT, Boulder, Sept. 21, 2024)
Last game Baylor 36, Louisiana Tech 19 (Sept. 19)
Line Baylor -9.5 • O/U 55.5 • as of Sept. 25

Why This Game Matters

  • Big 12 opener for both teams; first conference home game of 2026
  • DJ Lagway listed as probable after missing two games with a sprained ankle
  • Throwback uniforms: gold-chrome helmet, green jersey, B-A-Y-L-O-R across the chest
  • Colorado is coming off a 41-7 loss at Northwestern and roster discipline cuts
  • Baylor has not won a conference opener since 2022

Series History

  • Colorado leads 10-7 all-time and 4-2 in Waco
  • Last meeting: Hail Mary to force OT, then Travis Hunter strip in 2OT, CU 38-31 in Boulder
  • Last Waco meeting: Colorado 43-23 in 2007
  • Last Baylor home win vs. CU: 42-30 in 2003
  • Colorado this year: W 14-13 at Georgia Tech, W 52-21 vs. Weber State, L 41-7 at Northwestern

Keys for Baylor

  1. Get Lagway going early. He is 0-1 as a Bear and has not played since Auburn. Colorado’s pass defense is suspect.
  2. Stop the Go-Go run game. CU’s strength is the ground attack and four backs averaging 5+ YPC. Brennan Marion needs a big game as OC.
  3. Win the red zone. Colorado is last in the Big 12 in red-zone trips and has allowed seven RZ TDs. Baylor hasn’t finished better than 12th in red-zone offense scoring percentage dating back to 2023 and ranks 13th currently. 
  4. Apply pressure for 60 minutes. Aranda expects CU’s best shot after Northwestern. Baylor can’t have a Louisiana Tech type of fourth quarter.
  5. Protect the ball. Don’t give Colorado life with turnovers. Baylor hasn’t done a good job of that this season. 

Players to Watch

Baylor: QB DJ Lagway (probable) • RB Dawson Pendergrass • WR Gavin Freeman, Jayden McGowan • LB Travion Barnes • DL Hosea Wheeler, Traevon Mitchell • S Micah Gifford, Devin Turner

Colorado: HC Deion Sanders • OC Brennan Marion (Go-Go) • DC Chris Marve • a four-back run game that’s banged up

SicEm365 Colorado week reading

SICEM365
749 Comments
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Baylor Football Big 12 Football Dave Aranda Game Thread Baylor-Colorado Deion Sanders Baylor vs. Colorado Football Baylor Colorado 2026
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Discussion from...

Game Thread: Baylor Football Opens Conference Play in Waco against Colorado

63,415 Views | 749 Replies | Last: 5 days ago by FLBear5630
BearlyBeloved
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12:50p, 9/26/26
Halftime message to DJ:

You should run when you have an open field.
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Youre a clown
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In reply to Space Cutter • 12:50p, 9/26/26
Space Cutter said:
Lagway is playing rusty because Aranda sat him for 2 games. They clearly told Lagway DO NOT RUN. So that takes away from our offense. Under throwing and timing is off due to not getting live game play.

On the bright side, Our defense is playing really well. Pressure on their QB is great, Should have intercepted a couple of balls but defense has slowed their quick run game.

Lagway is simply not that good. I'm not saying he's bad, but I think that when the smoke clears, the cost/benefit of what we paid versus what we got isn't going to be there
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Danielsjackson114
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In reply to Youre a clown • 12:51p, 9/26/26
And injury prone

The last time someone said Lagway was a good QB was when he was coming out of HS

Nothing since
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boognish_bear
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12:56p, 9/26/26
We seemed to have some early success with Pendy running North/South early in the game…and then just seemed to go away from it
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boognish_bear
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12:57p, 9/26/26
A week removed from beating Aggy

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boognish_bear
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12:57p, 9/26/26
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Bearlysurviving
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12:59p, 9/26/26
Call me crazy but sometimes it seems like Lagway throws better off the scramble than when he has time
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oldbear69
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1:00p, 9/26/26
Play Bennett second half ,,, please..
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PartyBear
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1:01p, 9/26/26
Speaking of not getting what you are paying for, sure Tech will win but they look no better than teams being paid half of what they are paid.
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AC/DC
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In reply to Bearlysurviving • 1:01p, 9/26/26
Bearlysurviving said:
Call me crazy but sometimes it seems like Lagway throws better off the scramble than when he has time


One throw was across his body with five defenders around. Looked better than it was.
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Cove Dawg
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1:02p, 9/26/26
This team is about as exciting as watching paint dry.
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boognish_bear
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In reply to Big12Fan2024 • 1:02p, 9/26/26
Big12Fan2024 said:
Did we crank down the admissions acceptance rate to only 10% of applicants? Baylor Line looks really small.


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Dia-del-oso
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1:03p, 9/26/26
Our opening drive was so forgettable I thought CU got the ball first
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Dia-del-oso
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In reply to boognish_bear • 1:04p, 9/26/26
boognish_bear said:
Big12Fan2024 said:
Did we crank down the admissions acceptance rate to only 10% of applicants? Baylor Line looks really small.




I wonder if they lowered the number of runners for "safety reasons" again
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bear2be2
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1:04p, 9/26/26
Our defense has been so good/sound that I expect a holding penalty anytime someone gets the edge and makes a long run against us.
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bear2be2
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1:05p, 9/26/26
Can't give up that third-down conversion.
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Dia-del-oso
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1:06p, 9/26/26
I'm just waiting for our pass rush to get a pick6 instead of a pass deflection
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Bear2393
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In reply to Dia-del-oso • 1:09p, 9/26/26
Put Bennett in the game
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bear2be2
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1:09p, 9/26/26
McGowan is a weapon on special teams. Going from Josh Cameron to him on punt returns, there's not a whole lot of dropoff.
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BUATX2000
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1:10p, 9/26/26
Offense looks terrible.
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BearlyBeloved
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1:10p, 9/26/26
Let's hear it for our special teams!!!
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bear2be2
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1:11p, 9/26/26
Our offense blows. With just a decent offense, we're winning this game by three scores.
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bear2be2
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In reply to BearlyBeloved • 1:11p, 9/26/26
BearlyBeloved said:
Let's hear it for our special teams!!!

Other than Armstrong's kickoff out of bounds, the special teams have been damn near flawless.
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Dia del DougO
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In reply to boognish_bear • 1:12p, 9/26/26
boognish_bear said:
Dia del DougO said:
Too many low probability throws for Lagway, contested catches. Do they not know how to get some guys open in space?

Not saying Lagway isn't inconsistent, but they shoulnd't be so reliant on him throwing big chunk dimes all the time.

Run game works a bit for a while, then they start slinging it. Not much in between.


Can we not get a tight end open in the middle of the field?

Or a short out pattern well in front of a DB? Or a screen with some room?
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."
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Dia del DougO
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1:13p, 9/26/26
Couple of good punts executed today. Nice to see the kicking game not being wasted in football strategery.
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."
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ImABearToo
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1:14p, 9/26/26
So it is possible to change QB's at half. Prime - advantage.
“Life is short, eat desert first!”
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Dia del DougO
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1:14p, 9/26/26
Really bad missed arm tackle there.
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."
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1 bears opinion
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1:15p, 9/26/26
Way too much sideline to sideline on offense…this game is on offensive play calling - making this so much harder than it has to be
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Dia del DougO
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In reply to ImABearToo • 1:15p, 9/26/26
ImABearToo said:
So it is possible to change QB's at half. Prime - advantage.

I really don't think Bennett would be an upgrade. Much better athetes in this game. He threw a bunch of passes in two games he couldn't get away with today.
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."
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Dia del DougO
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1:16p, 9/26/26
See there. It's not always the quarterback.

Great sack!
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."
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boognish_bear
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In reply to bear2be2 • 1:16p, 9/26/26
bear2be2 said:
Our offense blows. With just a decent offense, we're winning this game by three scores.


This is the mirror image of what we were saying about our D last year. We just can't get one thing right without something else going backwards.
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ImABearToo
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In reply to Dia del DougO • 1:16p, 9/26/26
Give him a series and let's see. Heard the same about Nick Florence back in the day.
“Life is short, eat desert first!”
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bear2be2
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In reply to boognish_bear • 1:17p, 9/26/26
boognish_bear said:
bear2be2 said:
Our offense blows. With just a decent offense, we're winning this game by three scores.


This is the mirror image of what we were saying about our D last year. We just can't get one thing right without something else going backwards.

The Dave Aranda "whack-a-mole" principle in practice.
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boognish_bear
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1:17p, 9/26/26
It's incredible how many times this season our defense has gotten into the backfield. I can barely remember it ever happening last year.
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bear2be2
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1:17p, 9/26/26
We must get points on this drive right here.

McGowan is doing everything he possibly can to give our offense a short field/easy scoring drive. We need to freaking capitalize.
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