By the Baylor Lariat Sports Desk
Baylor football was picked to finish 12th in the preseason Big 12 Media Poll. Following a disastrous 3-9 finish and sans an FBS win at McLane Stadium in over a calendar year, the Bears’ prospects looked bleak.
Five months later, Baylor fans sat on the edge of their seats as the Bears entered the final weekend of the season with a chance at a Big 12 championship game berth. And though they didn’t make it, the season certainly represented a leap of faith, punctuated by a dominant, vindicating six-game winning streak, swooping head coach Dave Aranda off the hot seat and ensuring the program’s highest-ranked recruiting class in his tenure made it to campus.
The Baylor Lariat’s sports staff, while perfect in almost every way, utterly failed to predict the Bears’ massive step forward in 2024. Here, feet to the fire, they are forced to reckon with their wrongs.
Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Preseason Prediction: 4-8
Sitting at 2-4 at the first bye week, my prediction seemed to be on the verge of being spot on. Considering I was evaluating a team with a team that was rolling out Dequan Finn at QB on opening weekend, the prediction wasn’t outlandish. Progress was inevitable, but I underestimated how improved the Bears would be.
However, I and many others who predicted the Bears finish 8-4 even did so without the knowledge that redshirt junior quarterback Sawyer Robertson would be the No. 5 QB in the nation in quarterback ranking. Additionally, the emergence of redshirt freshman running back Bryson Washington, who set numerous freshman rushing program records, elevated the offense to a new level.
None of our predictions were correct, especially my final season pick, but I stand behind what I said in the preseason. Head coach Dave Aranda gave Baylor the best chance to win then and now. He proved that with his second turnaround season in Waco. The struggles were noted, but so was the fight. The bowl-bound, Aranda-led Bears are in for an exciting 2025 season.
Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
Preseason Prediction: 6-6
Apparently, someone bought my beachfront property in Hewitt.
Nothing felt certain entering this season, aside from improvement. There wasn’t much lower the Bears could go after a 1-7 home record and -12.5 average margin of defeat against Power-conference teams in 2023. With Jake Spavital’s new Air Raid-style offense, Dave Aranda calling defensive plays and a quarterback situation that was up in the air all offseason, the future felt shrouded in mystery.
But the Bears emerged from that mist triumphant, closing the season on a six-game winning streak as Sawyer Robertson seized the starting quarterback job and the offensive line made strides after the team’s first bye week. Suddenly, Aranda is off the hot seat and the Bears are going bowling. With the best recruiting class of his tenure signing on Wednesday, the once-sullen Baylor fanbase has plenty of reason to hope again.
Grant Morrison | Sports Writer
Preseason prediction: 7-5
I was the most optimistic about the Bears’ outlook at the start of the season, and it turns out I didn’t shoot high enough. I may have been wrong about the key contributors to the offense, but first-year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital’s Air Raid was as productive as advertised, especially in the second half of the season. Baylor ended the year averaging 34.7 points (second highest in the Big 12) and 434.5 yards per game (third). Baylor did so with incredible efficiency as Robertson led the conference in QBR.
Baylor had five different pass-catchers totaling 375+ yards receiving with at least three touchdowns and was the only Big 12 team to do so. Redshirt freshman Bryson Washington was the first freshman in Baylor history to rush for 1,000+ yards, with 13 total touchdowns as the cherry on top. It’s hard to overstate how well the Baylor offense finished the year, arguably as one of the best units in the country.
And the best part of the success? Many of the top contributors will be coming back next year. Get ready to see more fireworks from Robertson, Washington, leading wide receiver Josh Cameron, redshirt junior tight end Michael Trigg and four out of five starting offensive linemen. While Robertson and Washington played like bonafide stars this season, the offense wouldn’t have had nearly the success they did without the outstanding effort of the O-line under first-year position coach Mason Miller.
Look out, 2025. Baylor’s coming for the Big 12 title—and more.
