CBS Sports gives predictions on Baylor football bowl hopes
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Coming off nearly a 40-point loss to Utah, where the Bears were completely outclassed on both sides of the ball, Dave Aranda and his team failed to seize a big opportunity to change the narrative around his job security and the negative perception of this season. With yet another home loss during Aranda's tenure, and almost all of Baylor's offensive production set to graduate, feelings of dejection and frustration seem to be permeating throughout the entire fanbase.
Worst home loss in 15 years. Time for everything to be overhauled.
— Stephen Koehn (@slkoehn101) November 16, 2025
Despite that, the Bears do still have the chance to finish with a winning record in the Big 12, and re-establish themselves as one of the programs in the conference constantly in the hunt to make their way to Arlington. However, with all the turmoil surrounding the program, there were some concerning trends and comments from Dave Aranda's Monday press conference about the psyche of one of his senior leaders.
Baylor HC Dave Aranda on Sawyer Robertson against Utah: "I think the pressure got to him. I think Sawyer could have played a better game. I could have called a better game.
— Zach Smith (@ByZachSmith) November 17, 2025
"Without Sawyer, we're not able to win any games. We're not to be in a position to get to a bowl game."
Baylor fans can only hope that Robertson and company can get off the canvas after being floored by the Utes on Saturday. Since our last bowl projection of the Bears three weeks ago, the Bears have only tread water with a .500 record. With that, the Bears were included in a recent CBS Sports article alongside the 15 other Power 4 conference teams, alongside conference mates Kansas and Kansas State, that still need either one of two wins to secure bowl eligibility. Unfortunately for Aranda, several programs on the list either have coaches firmly on the hot seat (Florida State with Mike Norvell, Clemson with Dabo Swinney, North Carolina with Bill Belichick) or teams already on interim coaches, with Penn State and Auburn both making the list.
CBS Sports weighs in
Here's what CBS Sports' Brad Crawford wrote about the Bears and their bowl chances:
"Coming off his third 400-yard passing performance of the campaign, Bears quarterback Sawyer Robertson needs another huge outing over the final two weeks if he wants a crack at another bowl game this season. Baylor's last two losses have come to ranked teams in Big 12 play and they're matched up with two remaining opponents who have combined for 15 wins. Verdict: Armed Forces Bowl
While Crawford didn't say which game he saw the Bears winning to get into the game, the best guess would be for the Bears to knock off the Cougars at home. Even with Houston defeating the Wildcats in their head-to-head matchup, Arizona is riding a three-game winning streak, having just went on the road and beat a ranked Cincinnati team last team (the same that handled Baylor in a three-touchdown blowout). Meanwhile, Houston just dropped a home game against 4-7 West Virginia, while narrowly beating fellow Big 12 sewer dweller UCF 30-27.
Regardless of who it is, the Bears have a chance to avoid major disappointment by securing a win in either one of their two last contests.
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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.
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