2023 Baylor Bears Season Review
Two years ago, head coach Dave Aranda and the Baylor Bears were on top of the Big 12 as league champions. Last year, Aranda and the Bears slipped badly, going 6-76 and ending with a poor performance in a 30-15 loss to Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. But Aranda had equity in the bank for that 2021 championship season. This year, it got worse. Baylor finished 3-9 and was often non-competitive. Aranda was barely spared the firing squad and will begin 2024 on one of the hottest seats in the land.
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2023 Baylor Bears Season Review
Last game, the Baylor Bears lost 34-31 against the West Virginia Mountaineers as 11.5-point home dogs. The game went over the total of 54.5. Baylor has a record of 3-9 straight up, 3-8-1 against the spread, and 6-6 over/under the total. Baylor ranks 72nd for total offense, 41st for passing, 112th for rushing and 98th for scoring. Defensively, they rank 113th overall, 84th against the pass, 120th against the rush, and 114th for points allowed. Also, Baylor ranks 92nd for fewest turnovers lost and 108th for takeaways.
Garrett Greene hit Jahiem White with the winning touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining as visiting West Virginia charged back for a 34-31 win over hapless Baylor.
Greene finished with 269 yards passing and two scores and ran for 103 yards and two more, but the Mountaineers needed a last-gasp drive to win. West Virginia had just two first downs in the second half until the final drive, which covered 80 yards in just six plays with no timeouts.
Baylor trailed 27-14 at halftime, with its only scores coming on a pair of kickoff return touchdowns by Richard Reese. The Bears scored the first 17 points of the second half to take the lead but could not hold on.
White ran for 133 yards on 17 carries. Sawyer Robertson passed for 215 yards and a score for Baylor, which lost its final five games.
The Mountaineers got on the board first on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Greene to Trayvon Ray with 5:55 to play in the first quarter. West Virginia added a 38-yard field goal by Michael Hayes to push its lead to 10-0 at the 14:10 mark of the second quarter.
Reese ripped off a 96-yard kickoff return 15 seconds later that cut the Bears' deficit to 10-7.
Greene rambled 23 yards on a keeper for a touchdown that rebuilt the Mountaineers' lead to 17-7 with 10:28 to play before halftime. But Reese answered again, this time going untouched for 93 yards and the score.
Hayes added his second field goal of the game, this one for 36 yards, with 5:44 to play in the second quarter to expand West Virginia's lead to 20-7. Greene added a 1-yard scoring run with 15 seconds remaining to put the Mountaineers up 27-14 at the break.
The Bears' offense came to life in the third quarter, scoring on a 38-yard pass from Robertson to Ketron Jackson Jr. on their opening drive and a 2-yard touchdown run from Dominic Richardson with 5:45 to play in the quarter, the latter giving them a 28-27 lead.
Isaiah Hankins added to the Baylor lead with a 39-yard field goal with 12:58 to play.
Dave Aranda faces a do-or-die 2024 campaign.
2023 Baylor Bears Football Schedule
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
SCORE |
RECORD |
| Sep 2 |
vs. Texas State |
L 31-42 |
0-1 |
| Sep 9 |
vs. Utah |
L 13-20 |
0-2 |
| Sep 16 |
vs. LIU Post |
W 30-7 |
1-2 |
| Sep 23 |
vs. Texas |
L 6-38 |
1-3 |
| Sep 30 |
at UCF |
W 36-35 |
2-3 |
| Oct 7 |
vs. Texas Tech |
L 14-39 |
2-4 |
| Oct 21 |
at Cincinnati |
W 32-29 |
3-4 |
| Oct 28 |
vs. Iowa State |
L 18-30 |
3-5 |
| Nov 4 |
vs. Houston |
L 24-25 |
3-6 |
| Nov 11 |
at Kansas State |
L 25-59 |
3-7 |
| Nov 18 |
at TCU |
L 17-42 |
3-8 |
| Nov 25 |
vs. West Virginia |
L 31-34 |
3-9 |
Baylor is in its most successful era in program history. Since 2011 the Bears have finished in the top 13 of the final national rankings six times, including a program-best 5th in 2021.
The Baylor Bears play at a private Baptist institution in Waco, Texas. Once upon a time, the Bears were consistently outclassed by big-money powers such as the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners. Fortunately, big-money donors began to surface over the past decade.
Baylor invested heavily in football and built the spectacular McLane Stadium in 2014. McLane Stadium is on the cutting edge of any football venue, pro or college. This has improved recruiting and Baylor’s overall image with prospective players.
Baylor has won ten conference championships in its history and has a 14-12 record in bowl games. Robert Griffin III is the only Heisman Trophy winner in Baylor history. The Bears boast 18 consensus All-Americans during their existence.
Head coach Grant Teaff was a legend that led Baylor from 1972 through 1992 and ended up in the college football Hall of Fame. Legendary Baylor players include Mike Singletary, Don Trull, and Bryce Petty.
2023 College Football Schedule
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