The questions have already started to come, especially after the last few games. Are the Bears legitimate? Through seven games, the Bears have done all they can to answer that with an emphatic yes! 7 games, 7 wins, and rising from the unranked to now being 14th in the nation. Baylor is the second highest ranked team in the Big 12 conference and is now the top-rated school in the State of Texas.
Baylor’s ranking in the polls have continued to climb up with each victory, ever since their initial presence in the polls in week-7 after their 5th victory of the year. They emerged as 22nd in the AP and 23rd in the Coaches Poll. Two weeks later, they are 14th in both with a bullet.
Their 45-27 victory over Oklahoma State, a game they were the underdog in and expected to lose by most experts, has changed the tone around the program. With road victories over OSU and Kansas State, the Bears also have a Top-25 victory over 23rd ranked Iowa State.
Experts are taking notice. 247Sports National Analyst Steve Wiltfong wrote about the Bears and Coach Matt Rhule building a program that will last a few weeks ago after that 5-0 start. The Bears are building this program to last, one that is dedicated to player development. One that is dedicated to getting the most out of players who have the physical traits that the NFL looks for in prospect. The results of that work are starting to show with Rhule’s first recruiting class entering their third year.
With three years of development, scheme adjustments, and knowledge of the Big 12, the Bears have taken a significant step forward in 2019. You don’t go from 11 losses, down to 6, to none so far in year without those steps. The first step is building a defense that can compete and take something away from the offense. Two years of seeing big plays destroy the Bears now see a defense that is exceptional at taking those plays away. Baylor is now tied for 7th nationally in the fewest 40+ yard plays given up, allowing just three on the year. Last year, they were third worst nationally and gave up 41 of those or over three per game.
That ability to shut down the big plays have seen all of the main counting statistics plummet for the Bears defense.
| Category | 2018 | 2019 |
| Points Per game | 31.7 | 19.1 |
| Rushing Yards/game | 183.46 | 137.43 |
| Passing Yards/game | 244.0 | 221.1 |
| Turnovers Forced | 10 | 13 |
| Sacks | 25 | 25 |
| Tackles for Loss | 55 | 69 |
Even with 6 fewer games, the Bears already have forced three more turnovers, created the same amount of sacks, and have just 14 fewer tackles for loss than in 2019. That is the type of defense that Phil Snow and Matt Rhule want.
In ESPN’s SP+ metric, Baylor is now the 16th best team in the nation featuring the 14th best offense and the 25th best defense. This defense was rated mostly in the 80s last year, and was predicted to be in the 60s. Bill Connelly wrote about the biggest surprises of the 2019 season and included the Bears defense.
“The Bears’ big-play prevention ability is by far the biggest change from last season; they were 117th in marginal explosiveness (81st against the pass) in 2018, and they’re eighth and second, respectively, this fall. Despite a decrease in overall size, they’ve also drastically improved their run defense: They have gone from 99th to ninth in Rushing SP+.”
With two more games on the calendar against West Virginia on Halloween and a trip to TCU on November 9th, there is a chance that Baylor could be 9-0 when the three-time Big 12 champion Oklahoma Sooners come to town. If the Bears can maintain perfection, that would be the biggest football game for the Bears since the 2014 or 2015 season.
Baylor is back on the radar, and getting publicity once again for good reasons while they continue to fight to prove their 7-0 start is not a fluke, but the signs of a program that is back on the national radar.
— 247 SPORTS