Inside The Bears

Four Observations On Baylor's Football Schedule

Baylor's football schedule was released on Wednesday, and they have a loaded schedule with plenty of intrigue. Here is what stood out to us.
Jacob Westendorf|
Oct 4, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats wide receiver Jayce Brown (1) makes a catch as his helmet comes off against Baylor Bears cornerback Caldra Williford (18) during the second half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images
Oct 4, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats wide receiver Jayce Brown (1) makes a catch as his helmet comes off against Baylor Bears cornerback Caldra Williford (18) during the second half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

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The Baylor football schedule is out, and excitement can begin to build for the offseason to end and football to begin.

That will be quite some time from now, but the offseason goes quickly every year.

RELATED: A Look Inside Baylor’s Running Back Room for 2026

Baylor football is entering a big season, needing to rebound from last year’s disappointing campaign.

This year’s schedule provides them plenty of opportunity to do just that, it’s just a matter of how much Baylor’s new team gets settled into the system, and how quickly quarterback DJ Lagway adjusts to his new home.

More on that, and some other observations from Baylor’s football schedule.

1.) Home Heavy

The first point that sticks out on Baylor’s schedule is the number of games they get at home this season. With their season opener coming in Atlanta against Auburn, Baylor will not play a true road game until October 3 when they head to the desert to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils.

In turn, their home schedule also offers them some big opportunities. TCU, Iowa State, and Texas Tech are all home games this year.

2.)    Road Warriors

While they have more home than road games this year, once the calendar turns to October, Waco is going to become an unfamiliar place to the 2026 Baylor Bears. Five of Baylor’s final eight games in the regular season will be on the road, including dates at Kansas, UCF, and BYU. They should be able to give themselves a head start on the schedule if they protect their home field early in the season, but if they want to accomplish anything beyond regular season success, they’ll have to be able to win away from home as well.

3.)    Rivalry game

The schedule makers did Baylor a favor this year by scheduling their rivalry game against TCU after a bye week, which will give them time to recover from a game. With all the changes in college football, winning the big games on your schedule is still important. Michigan still needs to beat Ohio State and vice versa, for example.

Baylor needs to beat TCU, and that’s something they have not done often enough since the calendar turned to 2020. Baylor has one win since 2020, and that came in 2024. They lost last season, and need to find their way back to the right side of this rivalry.

4.)    Tough Finish

If Baylor finds its way into the Big 12 championship game, they’re going to have earned it. Their last three games of the season are two road games against BYU and Houston sandwiched around a home game with Texas Tech. Texas Tech, of course, was in the college football playoff last season before bowing out in their first round matchup against Oregon. Before that, however, they were a defensive juggernaut. BYU’s only losses last season came against Texas Tech. They were a very good football team, and finished their season off with a thrilling 25-21 win in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Houston won 10 games last year, and knocked off Baylor in Waco in their season finale. The last three games will be a big test for the Bears, and frankly, could determine if big changes are made in the program at the end of the year.

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Jacob Westendorf
JACOB WESTENDORF

Jacob Westendorf is a contributing writer for Baylor Bears on SI. He is also a writer covering the Green Bay Packers for Packers on SI. Westendorf graduated from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he earned a degree in communication with an emphasis in journalism and mass media. He worked in newspapers in Green Bay and Rockford, Illinois. He also interned at Packer Report for Bill Huber while earning his degree. In 2018, he became a staff writer for PackerReport.com, and a regular contributor on Packer Report's "Pack A Day Podcast." In 2020, he founded the media company Game On Wisconsin. In 2023, he rejoined Packer Central, which is part of Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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