Three reasons Baylor should have accepted its bowl game invite

Baylor missed out on a bowl game at 5-7, but sudden openings gave the Bears a rare second chance. With a Birmingham Bowl invite on the table, Baylor made a surprising choice: they said no.

Baylor head coach, Dave Aranda | (Orlin Wagner / Associated Press)

After the defeat to Houston last week, the Bears dropped to 5-7 and accepted the fate of missing a bowl game. In a wild turn of events this past week, multiple teams have declined their bowl invites. Notably, Iowa State and Kansas State, as they both have lost their head coaches and have elected that playing a bowl game would be too much of a hassle as their programs go through transition.

And then there was one: only one bowl bid remaining. Georgia Southern in Birmingham Bowl vs. whatever 5-7 team NCAA can get. Baylor is on the clock, then Rutgers, source told @On3sports

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 7, 2025

Brett McMurphy tweeted Sunday night, revealing that Baylor were the next team up of all the 5-7 football programs to have an opportunity to play in a bowl game. The Bears have turned their focus to the 2026 season, but many fans thought playing in a bowl game to cap off their season could have been a positive thing for the Bears. Baylor was offered the Birmingham Bowl to be played on December 29th against the Sun Belt's Georgia Southern, who went 6-6 in 2025.

Baylor rejected the invite. In a statement released a couple of hours after the invite went out. Fans were rightly frustrated, as they were excited for the prospect of one more football game.

Baylor statement on potential bowl:

“We have declined the opportunity to play in a Bowl, as we've already progressed deeply into the offseason timeline of preparation for the 2026 season.”

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 7, 2025

Financial benefit to the program

Baylor should have accepted this invitation. Financially, there was a benefit to the program. According to businessofcollegesports.com, the game pays out $1,374,545 to its participants. This money can go along way in support of the programs NIL and chances at landing transfer portal help. The exposure of playing in a bowl game during the holiday season is also important to programs.

Gather momentum for 2026

Baylor had the opportunity to end their season on a win. While a record of six wins and seven losses does not move anyone at a program like Baylor, being able to end your season on a win and not a three game losing streak is important to having some positive energy and momentum that can carry over into the spring and 2026 season. Georgia Southern is a bad opponent. The Bears would not have had trouble winning this bowl.

Player development

Lastly, Baylor had the chance to get its younger players involved. Bowl games no longer count towards a player's eligibility, meaning we can see players who redshirted like Louis Brown IV get involved. Although we all would like to see Sawyer Robertson play one more game for Baylor, the coaches could have gained insight into next year's quarterback battle between Nate Bennet and Walker White. Overall, a bowl game means three more weeks of practice and another opportunity for development.

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