What Are Best-Case, Worst-Case, and Most-Likely Scenarios for Baylor Football?
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With a little over ten weeks until week one against Auburn, the season itches closer every week. Baylor's rebuild looks promising, and everyone is wondering, what can the Bears actually do this year? Here's what I think can be a best-case scenario for Baylor, with a worst-case and most likely for the season this year.
Best-Case Scenario
With potential All-American quarterback DJ Lagway on the throne, hopes are gonna be decently high for most Bears fans. Although offense isn't the only side of the ball you need to win games, we clearly know that from last year, with Baylor ending up 5-7 with an offense that ranked in the top ten in yards and top 30 in points per game. Sawyer Robertson was one of the best quarterbacks Baylor has seen in a while, and even that couldn't help the team to a winning record.
A revamped offensive line was one of the key moves this team needed to have any hope of doing better the following year. Adding big transfers such as Yakiri Walker, who dominated at Memphis and had multiple Power Four teams interested, along with former Texas Longhorn Nate Kibble, a three-star interior lineman from Humble Atascocita High School.
Baylor has three or four really tough games this year, but other than that its managable. This team gets a win over Auburn in week one, cuts it close, and ends up beating Texas Tech or BYU; we could be talking about the first ten-win team since 2015.
Worst-Case Scenario
This one is kinda tough, because with the massive rehaul on both sides of the ball, this could either go really well and revive the fire that Baylor football has, or it could just bury it in the ground. I don't want to bring the hope down too much, but if the offensive line struggles like it did last year, Lagway and the Bears might be in trouble.
Lagway has shown his athleticism and playmaking abilities at Florida, but when pressured, he struggled severely, throwing over 23 interceptions in his two years for the Gators. There is upside with the new playbook and style of offense that Lagway will be implemented into, so there's always the hope that Florida's offense was holding him back, and he can make a Dante Moore-type turnaround.
One of the biggest factors in this worst-case scenario will be the defense. Bringing in over 35 different new players from the portal, that's a lot of new guys to put into one system. I definitely think they have a chip on their shoulder after the disappointing defense from last year, but with such a new roster, you never truly know what's going to happen in week one. Players like Indiana defensive tackle Hosea Wheeler and Kansas State transfer Colby McCalister will be major contributors to have a turnaround season for the defense.
If this defense is similar to last year's, and Lagway struggles, I see a season similar to last year, with the more difficult schedule and higher expectations. A four-or-three win season would be heartbreaking, but with the turnovers Lagway caused at Florida, along with a struggling defense, it would be a very bad combination for stacking up wins against these heavily loaded Big 12 teams.
Most Likely
I do see this team as worthy of having high hopes for a season that's at least better than last year. With the challenging schedule Baylor was given this year, I see at least three games that could go either way. One road game against Arizona State in week five, a road game against BYU in week 11, and hosting Texas Tech in the last week of the season, which will likely be a must-win for the Raiders to make the playoffs, I don't see Baylor's chances of coming out on top very high. If this defense steps up and Lagway performs well, this team should be guaranteed to win at least seven to eight games this year.
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Tyler is a writer for Baylor Bears On SI with a deep focus on football and basketball. Professional stat cruncher and high school athlete. Passionate NFL, college, and NBA fan. I love sports and want to put that passion into my writing.
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