CBS Sports picks between Auburn, Baylor in mega Week 1 clash
During the 4-team College Football Playoff era (starting in 2015), the Big 12 had been represented a couple of times, with three back-to-back years of the University of Oklahoma making the postseason, and TCU in 2023. Once the playoff picture expanded, a new possibility arose: multiple Big 12 teams having the opportunity to make the college football postseason.
While much of the focus in college football tends to be on the Big 10 and the SEC, the Big 12 was able to represent itself well in the 12-team playoffs' inaugural season, with Arizona State capturing the #4 seed, which came with a first-round bye. Unfortunately, the Sun Devils went on to lose in a thriller against the University of Texas. The fact remains that the Big 12 has the talent and strength of schedule to compete with the other power conferences and the capability of putting multiple teams into this year's upcoming postseason. However, in order to do so, we must look at the schedule composition of each team, as they will need to remain close to perfect in order to obtain a spot.
CBS Sports writer Brad Crawford looked in depth at each Big 12 team's upcoming schedule and gave his opinion on when each team's first loss would take place. While some schools on his list, such as BYU, which no longer has star quarterback Jake Retzlaff under center, are predicted not to lose until the middle of October, other schools were not given the same belief. One school on Crawford's list that he has dropping their opening matchup of the season is the Baylor Bears.
The Bears open up their season in tough fashion, with a battle against Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers under the lights in Waco. In his write-up for why Crawford has the Bears losing in week 1, he does highlight some key strengths for Dave Aranda and his team for the upcoming season. Crawford notes, "Dave Aranda's team is a slight favorite in the opener... much of that due to the 13 returning starters led by quarterback Sawyer Robertson." Crawford, along with a large share of other sports media outlets, is aware of the firepower that Aranda has coming back on the offensive side of the ball, with Sawyer Robertson even generating dark-horse Heisman trophy chatter.
However, Crawford goes on to state that this game won't be won on the offensive side of the ball: "Only five of those veterans are back on defense, however, which provides Auburn with confidence on the road given its notable portal additions this offseason."
While Crawford may not be as high on the Baylor defense as others, what he fails to mention are the massive transfer portal additions coming into Waco, specifically on defense. Given the returning production on offense, along with the defensive transfers coming into the program, I believe that Baylor walks away from this game with a win, in a convincing fashion, serving as a game that will put the rest of the conference on high alert.
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Josh started covering Baylor athletics in July 2025. Prior to Baylor Bears on SI, he worked as an intern for TheMichiganInsider at 247Sports. Josh graduated from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, with a bachelor’s degree in economics, where his passion for collegiate athletics continued to grow after attending his first game in The Big House. Combining his analytical background and his affinity for collegiate sports, Josh enjoys providing his unique perspective on the shifting dynamic equilibrium of the collegiate athletics landscape. When not watching sports, Josh enjoys cooking a nice meal, running, and traveling to new places with his friends and family.