College football's best duo resides in Waco
Alabama. Ohio State. Oregon. Georgia.
When we think about the most talent-rich teams in the college football landscape, be it through the ever-prevalent transfer portal, or the traditional high school recruiting pipelines, these are the type of blue-blood programs we associate with being able to consistently produce highly touted five-star prospects or consistently turn Saturday blue chippers into Sunday starters.
And those programs haven't exactly fallen off, even if the NIL climate has interestingly redistributed talent. Ty Simpson and Germie Bernard have looked unstoppable at times for the Crimson Tide. Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith continue to prove why Ohio State has a hold on the title of "WRU" right now. Dante Moore and Dakorien Moore have quickly made Ducks fans forget about Dillon Gabriel and an injured Evan Stewart.
And yet, the way I see it, the country's most dynamic duo, college football's best 1-2 duo, is currently nestled just off the rustic roadways of Central Texas, with Michael Trigg and Sawyer Robertson
Michael Trigg has had his experience amongst college football's elite. Originally committed to USC out of high school, he made waves on social media as a freshman for an incredulous catch-and-run effort during practice that would belie the player he was set to become for Baylor this season.
Okay so USC’s Michael Trigg is the best football player to ever exist pic.twitter.com/6Cm2V3rTXm
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) August 19, 2021
However, after two uncereminous exits from USC and Ole Miss, there were doubts on if he'd ever fufill the potential that made him a former top-150 high school recruit But, with his arrival in Waco last season, like what many young men do in their early 20s, he's seemed to have matured and developed, and fully grasp the gravity of fleeting chances to fufill the gifts and talents that he has.
Michael Trigg isn't perfect, but this is a young man who has used NIL funds to give back and buy school supplies for his mother's school students in Florida. It's nice to see a young man, who could have easily been the next "What-If", bounce back, overcome adversity, get out of his own way, and reach the pinnacles of college football.
While his stay in Waco hasn't been without hiccups, his second-team all-conference performance reminded coaches and scouts of who he was, and this year's production, leading all FBS tight ends in yards and receptions through six weeks, as well as the highlight reel plays, has put himself in a position to be remebered as one of the best tight ends in program history, and potentially be Baylor's first top-64 NFL draft pick since Jalen Pitre and TyQuan Thornton in 2022.
For Sawyer Robertson, the road to Waco, was much less bumpy but equally adverse. One of the last hand-picked high school quarterbacks personally recruited and picked by offensive guru Mike Leech before his passing, Robertson rode the bench at Mississippi State as time ticked away and hope dwindled for the Lubbock native.
But, much like Trigg, with opportunity late in his college career presenting itself last season with Dequan Finn's poor play, Robertson seized the moment, and hasn't let go. Now, a year later, he's leading the nation in passing yards, passing touchdowns, has his own trading card, and has inked an NIL deal with Nike.
Sawyer talking about developing his off-field relationship with @mtrigg_ , & that step that want to take in their QB/TE relationship in Year 2 together pic.twitter.com/qKT1VgSXjX
— Baylor Bears On SI (@BaylorBearsOnSI) August 1, 2025
Baylor's defense, simply, isn't good. And that may be the ultimate thing that stops this team from achieving the lofty goals they and the media had for them in the preseason. But, if we don't know anything about this team yet, it's the faith-based culture that Dave Aranda has built, as an extension of the beliefs of Baylor University as a whole, that has all provided some improbable moments for this team so far. Ultimately, there's a tough gauntlet for this team to face and they go through Big 12 play. But, as long as Sawyer Robertson is throwing passes, and Michael Trigg is catching them, the boys in green and yellow have a shot against anybody in the country with those two.
More From Baylor On SI:
- Redshirt tracker: How many games every Baylor football true freshman has played
- What we've learned about Baylor football through six weeks
- Baylor football QB Sawyer Robertson passed up by two QBs in latest power ranking
- Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson remains most overlooked QB after being named to another watchlist
Josh began covering Baylor athletics in July 2025. Before this, he previously wrote for Syracuse men's basketball and football at SI from 2022-24. As a former Division I defensive lineman at Prairie View, Josh is passionate about storytelling from a former athlete's perspective. When he's not covering Baylor, he enjoys traveling, listening to podcasts and music, and loves cooking a good meal.