Baylor Bears vs. Colorado: Staff Predictions and Preview

After a 36-19 win over LA Tech last weekend, Baylor is back in Waco to host the Colorado Buffaloes in its Big 12 opener. The Buffs are coming off a demoralizing loss to Northwestern in Evanston and it resulted in a few players being kicked off Colorado's team.

Deion Sanders' program is in disarray right now, but that doesn't mean it will be easy sledding for the Bears. Baylor has a few injury concerns, but it gets star quarterback DJ Lagway back in the game. He is listed as probable, after telling Baylor on SI that he would be back against Colorado.

The Bears hope to establish the run game and get Lagway comfortable in his return. Here is what Baylor on SI thinks will happen in Week 4.

Trent Knoop

Colorado did nothing to impress me this past weekend. Northwestern will likely be an average Big Ten school when it's all said and done and the Buffaloes' offense had zero answers. However, this is a conference game, and I'd be shocked to see Colorado look that bad again.

But Baylor gets DJ Lagway back this week and you have to wonder how long it might take him to gel with the offense. He's only played one game this season. It might take a few drives, but expect the Bears' offense to get rolling and cruise to a two-score win.

Final score: Baylor 31, Colorado 21

Jacob Haddadin

Baylor's defense will once again star in this game. Colorado is coming off one of the most embarrassing performances in the Deion Sanders era and now have to go back on the road in back-to-back weeks to play in Waco. I think Lagway will have himself a decent game, but Travion Barnes and Garrick Ponder will continue to shine and dominate young quarterback Julian Lewis.

Final score: Baylor 27, Colorado 13

Tyler Gillum

Lagway gets his first game back since week one against Baylor's first in-conference opponent. Colorado had a brutal loss to Northwestern last week and will be looking for a desperately needed bounce-back performance. Their defense has allowed over 25 points and an average of 241 passing yards a game. Baylor could be without their big transfer nose tackle, Hosea Wheeler, and will have to find different ways to make this Colorado offense forced to throw the ball and hope Julian Lewis makes a few mistakes.

Deion Sanders has had Baylor's number in previous seasons, but I think there's just too much going on right now in the Buffaloes' program, and they are not ready for this newly improved Baylor team. Expect an effort to put the ball on the ground early, and then take advantage of the deep ball once Colorado starts to run commit.

Final score: Baylor 33, Colorado 20

Brad Teague

Which Colorado team shows up on Saturday? If it's the same lacidasical team of Buffaloes that got throttled by Northwestern, Baylor wins this one pretty handily. It's not going to be that easy though.
Coach Sanders released a few players from his team this week and took responsibility for his team's poor performance and mentioned that offensive production from the Buffaloes hasn't met expectations.

Colorado is either going to show in Waco this Saturday revitalized and rejuvenated with a new sense of who they are and they'll give the Bears the toughest contest of the year, or the Northwestern game didn't serve as a wake-up call for the Buffaloes but rather a knock-out punch for the rest of their season. I fully expect Baylor to win this game either way.

Whether it's going to be DJ Lagway getting to finally show the fans at McLane Stadium just what he can do (as it will be his first home game as Baylor's quarterback), Baylor's receiving corps catching everything thrown in their vicinity (Gavin Freeman's the NCAA's leading receiver in terms of catches this season with 29, and it seems that all Jayden McGowan does is catch touchdown passes), or the Bears defense continuing their season-long squeeze on every opponent, Baylor should win this game handily. Colorado however has explosive play potential on their side as well, and when it only takes one play to score a touchdown, they're a threat until the game is over and the game clock reads all zeroes.

Because of that, the final score of this game is going to look like the game was a lot closer than I expect it to be. Not for nothing, Colorado averaged more than 6 yards per run against Northwestern in their recent game, and even though Baylor's defense is stout and smothering against the pass, their aggressive play has shown some vulnerability to the run. Baylor wins this game as long as they don't try to compete in a "whoever scores last wins" kind of game; look for the Bears to try to establish the run and then spend the game chewing the clock as much as they're able.

Final score: Baylor 31, Colorado 17

Jason B. Hirschhorn

Saturday's game features two teams trending in opposite directions. Colorado comes off a demoralizing loss to Northwestern in a "f—ing library." Meanwhile, Baylor has taken care of business in its last two games, nearly upset a major SEC program in the season opener, and has a bevy of significant players returning from injury this week, including starting quarterback DJ Lagway.

On a more granular level, the matchup tilts in the Bears' favor. Their offense enters the week ranked 36th nationally in SP+, whereas Colorado's defense sits at 72nd, dead last among all Big 12 teams. The delta looks even more extreme on special teams, where the Buffaloes rank 122nd overall. Baylor currently ranks third overall.

All of which points to a third straight victory for the Bears.

Prediction: Baylor over Colorado

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