By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Editor
Many Baylor fans are down on the Bears following a disappointing 5-7 campaign in 2025. That squad had the potential to create a memorable season behind the majority of starters returning.
This year is a new story for Baylor football. There has been a major overhaul of the roster and coaching staff heading into 2026. There are some mixed feelings about this team. On one side, last year’s team missing out on a bowl game and significantly new personnel could pull the Bears down. On the other side, some big names have joined the program and send Baylor back to the postseason.
Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Editor
Record: 7-5
Baylor has faced plenty of change on both sides of the ball. The offense is returning only one starter from the week one loss to Auburn last year. The defense is under new management with head coach Dave Aranda giving play calling duties to new defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman. Not all change is bad, though. Junior quarterback DJ Lagway is going under center for the team he grew up watching and the defensive line and secondary received some much needed help.
The Bears will benefit from a relatively easy schedule for most of the season. They can find themselves going 7-2 heading into the final stretch with a pair of major win streaks. They need to take advantage of weeks two through four against Prairie View A&M, Louisiana Tech and Colorado while gaining some more momentum against TCU, Kansas, UCF and Matt Campbell-less Iowa State in games six through nine.
Baylor will stumble against Auburn in the Aflac Kickoff Game and Arizona State in week five. What will separate the Bears from a successful season is the gauntlet in November. They finish their season against preseason No. 14 BYU, No. 12 Texas Tech and No. 23 Houston. This difficult three-game stretch will douse any flame Baylor tries to stoke in the final month of the season.
Carson Vercoe | Sports Writer
Record: 6-6
After a disappointing 2025 season, the Bears enter this season with enough transfer-portal talent to slide into a bowl game. The addition of Lagway helps boost an offense that lost a ton of production, and I believe Lagway will improve Baylor’s offense compared to his time at Florida. Also, adding experienced defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman will help turn around a defense that struggled mightily last season. Baylor also gets their easier games at home, which could help the Bears get some wins as they move deeper into the season.
The roster’s turnover is concerning. On both sides of the ball, the Bears will usher in multiple new starters. Combine that with learning new schemes, and I believe it might just be too quick of a turnaround for the Bears. The Bears also face a brutal end of the year with Texas Tech at home, at BYU and at Houston. This will be a tough stretch for the Bears, and I don’t know if they have the team to get through it strongly.
Although I believe the defense will improve slightly under Klanderman and the offense will still have its moments, I just can’t see this team being a top team in the Big 12. If things go right for the Bears, they could, however, find themselves competing in a bowl game.
Grant McTaggart | Sports Writer
Record: 7-5
Baylor will go 7-5 this season. The Bears will have more success than 2025 with junior quarterback DJ Lagway at the helm, bring two years of experience in the SEC with him. Baylor also hit the transfer portal hard during the offseason to cycle out the starters that left after the underwhelming 5-7 finish. Baylor still lacks some familiarity because of the drastic changes in the past couple of months. Baylor will lose the matchups against the top teams in the Big 12, including BYU and its impressive offense.
The Bears will look very strong and take care of business more easily in their wins, but they will fall short in their hard-fought games. This team has a lot of spirit, physicality and toughness that will surprise Baylor fans this season.
Aidan O’Connor | Play-By-Play
Record: 6-6
After a 2025 campaign that fell short of expectations, Baylor will improve this season but it will not be by much.
Last year the Bear’s offense was humming, scoring 31.1 points per game landing them at fifth place in the Big 12. This year it looks to be no different as offensive coordinator Jake Spavital returns along with several new weapons, such as junior quarterback DJ Lagway and junior running back Dre’lon Miller. The offense will no doubt be the strong suit of this team and will have to carry them in several games.
The defense while introducing some new faces such as senior JACK Ryan Davis and junior cornerback Devon Jordan still has questions surrounding play calling. This year calling the shots for Baylor’s defense will be former Kansas State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman. This change, while different, is not necessarily an improvement as Kansas State’s defense last year sat in the bottom half of the Big 12 at 11th place, allowing 26.7 points per game. While better than Baylor’s 32.6 points per game, it’s still a liability.
Ultimately, the outcome for the 2026 season will be an improvement for the green and gold but just by an inch. The offense will continue to dazzle, and the defense will struggle, but in the end, they will manage to get one more win and become bowl eligible once again.
Brooke Cranford | LTVN Sports Director
Record: 7-5
Coming into a new season, the Bears have a lot to prove. However, there is a lot of talent that they received from the transfer portal, and it could have the chance for Baylor to start the season off strong. I see DJ Lagway as a huge benefit to the team who can contribute a lot to the offense. Speaking of new additions, I am sure that Baylor will be an offense-first team once again, but I also believe that its defense could progress under the supervision of the new defensive coordinator, Joe Klanderman.
Unfortunately, the team doesn’t really have a lot of time to build a connection that is necessary because of how hard it is to carry over that chemistry in the midst of NIL and the transfer portal. One of the most important things will be to see how fast all those newcomers are going to develop chemistry in a time when the NIL and transfer portal makes it very hard for teams to retain their rosters. I don’t know if that is possible for the Bears.
The first game against Auburn is going to be a test and the season will become rather complicated towards its end with a tough period against Texas Tech, BYU and Houston. This new season could benefit the Bears and lead to a spot in the goal game if they can figure everything out in a short amount of time.
Aiden Richmond | LTVN Managing Editor
Record: 7-5
Reflecting on last spring when I was at practice, I wasn’t really sure what to think about this record or the team in general, in all honesty. On paper, the roster has talent, but the chemistry part is what scares me, and in the modern era of NIL, I fear Baylor will become a builder school. You have guys come in for a year or two, let our coaches do their thing and build a player, but the money comes in. You have guys with talent transferring away from Waco, shooting us in the foot.
Again, do I want to believe Lagway and his ragtag group of receivers can show up like Sawyer and company last year? YES. However, it doesn’t change that I think we see a split time share with senior running back Dawson Pendergrass and sophomore running back Kaden Knighten in the backfield. Knighten proved to be reliable while Dawson was out all season and former Bear Bryson Washington was banged up throughout the season, leading to his severely lackluster performance compared to his freshman year.
The defense is what scares me the most about this season. Nothing against the team last year because you must understand we took on the gauntlet toward the end of the season in a ranked Utah, Arizona and Houston. The Bears gave up the most touchdowns in the Big 12 and the second most rush yards all season. This wouldn’t be an issue if it were 2014, when defense was an option for Big 12 teams, but it’s 2026, and defense is needed to not just be a contender for a championship but to even win the games you’re supposed to win.
Charlie Cole | LTVN Sports Reporter
Record: 7-5
The Bears have a few big questions to be answered this season, specifically the new addition of DJ Lagway. This is a team with a ton of upside in my eyes, but taking that step will prove to be a challenge. With some returning underclassmen and notable transfer portal additions, I believe Baylor is ready to improve on a disappointing 2025 season.
I predict a volatile season for the Bears, with a strong start before facing a grueling three-game stretch to end the year. Lagway has had good reports coming out of camp, and there is reason for optimism in what may be a make–or–break year for head coach Dave Aranda. The running back room brings back a lot of talent and welcomes Dawson Pendergrass back after he missed the entirety of last season. The offense should be ready to roll in 2026.
Similarly to last year, I see Baylor being an offensive-led team, but I think the defense under new coordinator Joe Klanderman will be significantly improved after a 2025 season that saw it give up 32.6 points per game, the second most in the Big 12. With some growth from last year in the secondary, the defense should be able to do enough to keep the Bears in the middle of the pack in the Big 12, and ultimately reach a bowl game, a successful season in my eyes.
