Where Baylor ranks in college football national polls
After dropping their season opener to the Auburn Tigers, the Baylor Bears have bounced back with two wins over the SMU Mustangs and Samford Bulldogs. They erased a 14-point deficit in Dallas to come back and beat the Mustangs in overtime before returning home and defeating Samford, but their performance against the Bulldogs left a lot to be desired.
Sawyer Robertson and the Bears' offense looked good in the first half, scoring 35 points, but they turned the ball over a couple of times and could only score seven points in the second half. Defensively, they only gave up seven points, but there were still quite a few mistakes to clean up.
This week, the Bears will host the Arizona State Sun Devils in McLane Stadium to open Big 12 play. The Bears, who started slow in conference play last year, need to get off to a hot start this season if they want to be serious contenders for the Big 12 crown and a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
Here's where the Bears rank in college football polls after Week 3.
AP Top 25
The Baylor Bears are not ranked in the AP Top 25, but received six votes to be ranked, which is the 35th-most in the country.
US LBM Coaches Poll
The Bears are also not ranked in the US LBM Coaches Poll, but received eight votes to be ranked, which is the 40th-most in the country.
ESPN SP+
Baylor ranks 35th on ESPN's SP+ rankings, up 12 spots from last week. They also have the No. 10 offense in the country according to this metric.
ESPN FPI
Baylor ranks 39th in the country in the ESPN Football Power Index, which is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season.
CBS Sports
CBS Sports has the Bears ranked as the No. 31 team in the country, four spots higher than Arizona State, who they face this week.
- Enjoy more Baylor Bears coverage on Baylor Bears On SI -
More News:
2 Baylor Bears earn spot on National Team of the Week after Week 3 win vs. Samford
Big 12 awards: Baylor Bear earns Big 12 Player of the Week Award
Baylor, Oklahoma State Week 5 game time, channel revealed
Bearly believable: Top 5 plays in Baylor's stunning win over Samford
PFF grades, snap counts following Baylor's massive win over Samford
The game changers: Top players from Baylor's incredible win over Samford
For additional coverage of Baylor University Athletics
Follow us on Facebook: @BaylorBearsOnSI
Follow us on X/Twitter:@BaylorBearsOnSI
Follow us on Instagram: @BaylorBearsOnSI
Subscribe to us on Youtube: @BaylorBearsOnSI
Luke is a writer for the Baylor Bears On SI. He's an LSU graduate and previously covered the Tigers for two years. He also covers the New Orleans Saints and Formula 1. Luke's passion for sports and storytelling led him to become a sports writer.