The 2023 Baylor Bears football team represented

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

during the

2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 154th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). ...

. The Bears were led by

Dave Aranda David Christopher Aranda (born September 29, 1976) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Baylor University, a position he has held since 2020. He previously served as the defensive coordinator at LSU, Wisconsin, Utah St ...

in his fourth season as their head coach. 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 played eight of their 12 regular season games at home, the largest number in school history and the most home games in the NCAA FBS this year, along with Penn State, Arizona State and Mississippi State. This was 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 was 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 continued to play nine intra-conference games; therefore, the Bears in 2023 did not play BYU, Kansas, Oklahoma State or Oklahoma, which (along with Texas) was in its final year with the league before moving to the SEC. The Bears played three of the four newcomers. Five Baylor players were named to national preseason watch lists for the following awards: *

Richard Reese Richard Reese (born October 24, 2004) is an American football running back for the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football, Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. He previously played for the Baylor Bears football, Baylor Bears. Early life Reese attend ...

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

Doak Walker Award The Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. Established in 1990, it is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Foot ...

and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award * Gabe Hall,

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...

*Clark Barrington,

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College Football Awards ...

* Blake Shapen,

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is given annually in the United States to the nation's top upperclassman quarterback in college football. Candidates are judged on accomplishments on the field as well as on their character, scholastic achievem ...

*Alonzo Allen,

Wuerffel Trophy The Wuerffel Trophy is an award given annually to the college football player "who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement." The trophy, designed by W. Stanley Proctor and named in honor of former Univers ...

The Bears played their home games at

McLane Stadium McLane Stadium is an American football stadium in Waco, Texas owned and operated by Baylor University. Originally named "Baylor Stadium", the facility's name was changed to "McLane Stadium" in December 2013 to honor Baylor alumnus and business m ...

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

, its 9th year of hosting play. The Bears failed to qualify for a bowl game and suffered their first losing season since

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

following their loss to Kansas State. The Baylor Bears football team drew an average home attendance of 43,388 in 2023.

Schedule

Game summaries

vs. Texas State

vs. Utah

vs. LIU

vs. Texas

at UCF

vs. Texas Tech

at Cincinnati

vs. Iowa State

vs. Houston

Personnel

Roster

References

{{Baylor Bears football navbox Baylor Baylor Bears football seasons

Baylor Bears football The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I (NCAA)#Football Bowl Subdivision, Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. After 64 seasons at the off-campus Baylor Stadium, renamed F ...