3 Instant Takeaways from No. 10 BYU Eclipsing Baylor 28-7

Baylor fell 28-7 to the top-10 BYU Cougars in a delayed start.

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier outclassed the Baylor defense early on, refusing to be contained and rushing for three touchdowns on his first three drives. The Baylor offense only managed 19 yards per drive and seemed utterly outmatched.

Here are three takeaways from the discouraging loss in Provo, Utah:

The book might be out on the Baylor defense

Oct 24, 2026; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Isaiah Marshall (8) dives for a touchdown against Baylor Bears safety Bo Onu (21) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Teams are starting to figure out how to take advantage of the Bears' defense, which has been pretty dominant so far this season. In my eyes it has three components:

Make them tackle. The front can be killed by a thousand cuts if the offense can stick to the run game and is physical enough to break one tackle.

Gadget plays can give Baylor fits. Just about every team this season has pulled out gimmicky flea flickers and formations to break for big yards, and for the most part it has worked very well.

Play patiently. Long drives will bait out offside and pass interference penalties. If the offense can withstand the pressure from the D-line, it can chip away and put together a 10-15 play scoring drive

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Travel issues are really frustrating

Nov 14, 2026; Provo, Utah, USA; Baylor Bears offensive coordinator Jake Spavital | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

During the nationwide plane grounding yesterday, the Bears remained in Waco all the way through Friday night. The team didn't land in Provo, Utah, until noon, just six hours before kickoff. There were a lof of teams that made plans to travel once the grounding rule was lifted, but Joe Klanderman's team opted to stay in Waco overnight and make the flight on Saturday morning.

While we don't know how much this affected rest and mood, we can be sure it severely threw off the team's schedule and pregame routine that is so valued in the program.

It was clear Baylor was unprepared from the jump. The offense got punched in the mouth while the defense was slipping and falling all over the field, giving up 21 points in the Cougars' first three drives.

Any small momentum killed by penalties

BYU football — Nov 14, 2026; Provo, Utah, USA; BYU Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) dives forward for a first half touchdown | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After playing a clean, one-penalty game against Iowa State, Baylor thought the free opponent yardage had washed out with Dave Aranda, but the BYU home crowd clearly resurfaced disciplinary anguish.

If the Bears hope to find another win in the remaining regular season, penalties will have to be cleaned up

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