2023 Baylor Bears football team

The 2023 Baylor Bears football team represent Baylor University in the Big 12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bears are led by Dave Aranda in his fourth season as their head coach.

2023 Baylor Bears football
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Record3–4 (2–2 Big 12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJeff Grimes (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorMatt Powledge (1st season)
Home stadiumMcLane Stadium
(capacity: 45,140)
Uniform
2023 Big 12 Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 6 Oklahoma  4 –0   7 –0  
No. 7 Texas  3 –1   6 –1  
Kansas State  3 –1   5 –2  
Oklahoma State  3 –1   5 –2  
Iowa State  3 –1   4 –3  
Kansas  2 –2   5 –2  
BYU  2 –2   5 –2  
West Virginia  2 –2   4 –3  
Baylor  2 –2   3 –4  
TCU  2 –3   4 –4  
Texas Tech  2 –3   3 –5  
Houston  1 –3   3 –4  
UCF  0 –4   3 –4  
Cincinnati  0 –4   2 –5  
Championship: December 2, 2023
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
As of October 27, 2023
Rankings from AP Poll

Baylor was picked sixth out of 14 teams in the preseason media poll of the conference. It was not ranked in the national top 25 polls of media or coaches, though the team did receive some votes.

The Bears play eight of their 12 regular season games at home, the largest number in school history[1] and the most home games in the NCAA FBS this year, along with Penn State, Arizona State and Mississippi State.[2]

This is the first season with Big 12 membership at 14 teams, after the realignment upheaval of the preceding years, which saw the league add four teams (BYU, UCF, Houston and Cincinnati). Consequently, the football schedule is no longer a "round robin" in which every team plays every other team, as was the practice when the league had 10 teams. The league continues to play nine intra-conference games; therefore, the Bears will not in 2023 play Kansas State, Kansas, Oklahoma State or Oklahoma, which (along with Texas) is in its final year with the league before moving to the SEC. The Bears play all four newcomers.

Five Baylor players were named to national preseason watch lists for the following awards:

The Bears play their home games at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, its 10th year of hosting play.

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 26:00 p.m.Texas State*
ESPN+L 31–4244,945
September 911:00 a.m.No. 12 Utah*
  • McLane Stadium
  • Waco, TX
ESPNL 13–2043,732
September 1611:00 a.m.LIU*
  • McLane Stadium
  • Waco, TX
ESPN+W 30–743,732
September 236:30 p.m. No. 3 Texas
  • McLane Stadium
  • Waco, TX
ABCL 6–3849,165
September 302:30 p.m.at UCF
FS1W 36–3544,005
October 77:00 p.m.Texas Tech
ESPN2L 14–3944,620
October 2111:00 a.m.at Cincinnati
ESPN+W 32–2938,193
October 282:30 p.m.Iowa Statedagger
  • McLane Stadium
  • Waco, TX
ESPN+
November 4Houston
  • McLane Stadium
  • Waco, TX
November 11at Kansas State
November 18at TCU
November 24West Virginia
  • McLane Stadium
  • Waco, TX

[3]

Game summaries

vs. Texas State
See also: 2023 Texas State Bobcats football team
Texas State Bobcats (0–0) vs. Baylor Bears (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Texas State 14 14 7742
Baylor 6 7 11731

at McLane Stadium • Waco, TX

  • Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 99°F
  • Game attendance: 44,945
  • Referee: David Alvarez
  • TV: ESPN+
  • Pregame line: Baylor –26.5
Statistics Texas State Baylor
First downs2022
Plays–yards69–44176–524
Rushes–yards39–14332–108
Passing yards298416
Passing: comp–att–int22–30–027–44–1
Time of possession26:1233:48
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Texas State PassingTJ Finley22–30, 298 yards, 3 TD
RushingIsmail Mahdi6 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingJoey Hobert6 receptions, 105 yards, 1 TD
Baylor PassingBlake Shapen21–31, 303 yards, 2 TD
RushingDominic Richardson16 carries, 84 yards
ReceivingDrake Dabney6 receptions, 101 yards, 2 TD

vs. Utah
See also: 2023 Utah Utes football team
No. 12 Utah Utes (1–0) vs. Baylor Bears (0–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
No. 12 Utah 0 3 31420
Baylor 0 10 3013

at McLane Stadium • Waco, TX

  • Date: Saturday, September 9, 2022
  • Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
  • Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 90°F
  • Game attendance: 43,732
  • Referee: Christopher Wiggins
  • TV: ESPN
  • Pregame line: Baylor +7.0
Statistics Utah Baylor
First downs2014
Plays–yards73–37757–339
Rushes–yards47–22429–121
Passing yards153218
Passing: comp–att–int12–26–112–28–2
Time of possession36:1723:43
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Utah PassingNate Johnson6–7, 82 yards
RushingJa'Quinden Jackson19 carries, 13 yards
ReceivingMikey Matthews4 receptions, 48 yards
Baylor PassingSawyer Robertson12–28, 218 yards, 1 INT
RushingDominic Richardson14 carries, 81 yards
ReceivingKetron Jackson, Jr.4 receptions, 72 yards

vs. LIU
See also: 2023 LIU Sharks football team
LIU Sharks (0–2) vs. Baylor Bears (0–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
LIU 0 7 007
Baylor 7 9 7730

at McLane Stadium • Waco, TX

  • Date: Saturday, September 16, 2023
  • Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
  • Game weather: rain • Temperature: 76°F
  • Game attendance: 43,732
  • Referee: Nate Black
  • TV: ESPN+
  • Pregame line: Baylor –44.0
Statistics LIU Baylor
First downs1026
Plays–yards43–14375–391
Rushes–yards29–14348–270
Passing yards40121
Passing: comp–att–int6–14–113–27–0
Time of possession23:3636:24
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
LIU PassingChris Howell4–10, 41 yards, 1 INT
RushingJaden Dawkins1 carry, 42 yards
ReceivingAviyon Smith Mack1 reception, 35 yards
Baylor PassingSawyer Robertson10–22, 113 yards, 1 TD
RushingDawson Pendergrass21 carries, 111 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingKetron Jackson, Jr.2 receptions, 29 yards

vs. Texas
See also: 2023 Texas Longhorns football team
No. 3 Texas Longhorns (3–0) vs. Baylor Bears (1–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
No. 3 Texas 7 21 10038
Baylor 3 3 006

at McLane Stadium • Waco, TX

  • Date: Saturday, September 23, 2023
  • Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 97°F
  • Game attendance: 49,165
  • Referee: Derek Anderson
  • TV announcers (ABC): Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, and Tom Luginbill
  • Pregame line: Baylor +14.5


Statistics Texas Baylor
First downs2419
Plays–yards59–50384–365
Rushes–yards34–7531–60
Passing yards328305
Passing: comp–att–int19–25–029-53-1
Time of possession26:3033:30
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Texas PassingQuinn Ewers18-23, 293 yards, 1 TD
RushingJonathon Brooks18 carries, 106 yards, 2 TD
ReceivingJa'Tavion Sanders5 receptions, 110 yards
Baylor PassingSawyer Robertson20-35, 203 yards, 1 INT
RushingRJ Martinez3 carries, 22 yards
ReceivingMonaray Baldwin3 receptions, 81 yards


at UCF
See also: 2023 UCF Knights football team
Baylor Bears (1–3) vs. UCF Knights (3–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Baylor 7 0 32636
UCF 21 7 7035

at FBC Mortgage Stadium • Orlando, FL

  • Date: Saturday, September 30, 2023
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: cloudy • Temperature: 83°F
  • Game attendance: 44,005
  • Referee: Henry Johns
  • TV: FS1
  • Pregame line: Baylor +8.0


Statistics Baylor UCF
First downs2218
Plays–yards77–44661–469
Rushes–yards43–15335–235
Passing yards293234
Passing: comp–att–int21–34–013-26-1
Time of possession35:3124:29
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Baylor PassingBlake Shapen21-34, 293 yards, 1 TD
RushingRichard Reese16 carries, 100 yards
ReceivingMonaray Baldwin7 receptions, 150 yards, 1 TD
UCF PassingTimmy McClain13-25, 234 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
RushingJohnny Richardson6 carries, 105 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingJavon Baker3 receptions, 113 yards, 1 TD

vs. Texas Tech
See also: 2023 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team
Texas Tech Red Raiders (2–3) vs. Baylor Bears (2–3)
Period 1 2 34Total
Texas Tech 7 10 71539
Baylor 0 3 01114

at McLane Stadium • Waco, TX

  • Date: Saturday, October 7, 2023
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: clear • Temperature: 66°F
  • Game attendance: 44,620
  • Referee: Michael VanderVelde
  • TV: ESPN2
  • Pregame line: Baylor +2.5
Statistics Texas Tech Baylor
First downs1917
Plays–yards68–36668–341
Rushes–yards42–18630–17
Passing yards180324
Passing: comp–att–int19–26–122–38–0
Time of possession30:0429:56
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Texas Tech PassingBehren Morton19–26, 180 yards, 1 INT
RushingTahj Brooks31 carries, 170 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingMyles Price10 receptions, 90 yards
Baylor PassingBlake Shapen22–38, 324 yards, 1 TD
RushingDominic Richardson9 carries, 26 yards
ReceivingMonaray Baldwin5 receptions, 126 yards

Rankings
Further information: 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APRV——————
CoachesRV——————
CFPNot releasedNot released

References
  1. "Football Opens 2023 Season with Texas State". BaylorBears.com. August 28, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  2. Mike Huguenin (March 7, 2023). "Breaking down the 2023 college football schedule, league-by-league". Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  3. "2023 Baylor Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved December 25, 2022.


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