Robertson and Baylor hope to build off 2024 finish that removed dismal feel around Aranda’s team

By Canadian Press on August 18, 2025.

The feeling surrounding coach Dave Aranda and the Baylor Bears was getting downright dismal midway through last season.

A six-game winning streak certainly changed the mood, and expectations, especially for quarterback Sawyer Robertson and other players who went through that extended slide.

“A lot of the guys that are here right now, and that had roles in last year’s successful season, were also on that 3-9 team (in 2023) when nobody liked us,” Robertson said. “So just keeping that chip on our shoulder is the main thing, and building off of how we ended last season.”

Some now even consider Baylor, 8-5 last season after a bowl loss to LSU, a dark-horse contender for another Big 12 title.

Before winning its final six regular-season games last year, Baylor was in a 5-17 tailspin that went back to a four-game losing streak at the end of 2022. That was just a season after being Big 12 champions, winning the Sugar Bowl and ranking fifth in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll in Aranda’s second year.

“It’s good to have the momentum, but we’ve got to realize it’s a new season, new team,” fifth-year receiver Josh Cameron said. “There’s always going to be different dynamics.”

Runners and catchers

Baylor has the only 1,000-yard rusher returning in the Big 12 from last season, and has back its top two receivers.

Bryson Washington ran for 1,029 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, and caught 22 passes. Along with Dawson Pendergrass (671 yards, six TDs), that gives Baylor one of the league’s top running back duos.

Cameron, a former walk-on, had 52 catches for 754 yards and 10 TDs last year. He was also the FBS leader averaging 20.7 yards on punt returns.

“Just kind of treat myself and carry myself as like, ‘Man, I’m a walk-on.’ So I’m still trying to fight for that spot. I’m still trying to fight for what’s mine,” he said. “That’s like the main thing that’s really keeps me going.”

The Bears got a big boost when the NCAA cleared former Texas State transfer Ashtyn Hawkins (45 catches, 567 yards, five TDs) for another season with Baylor.

Sawyer’s journey

Robertson spent two seasons at Mississippi State before transferring to Baylor, where he made four starts as a sophomore before taking over full-time in the third game last season.

Even while hampered by a lower-body injury the second half of last season, he threw for 3,071 yards and 28 touchdowns with only eight interceptions. He added 230 yards and four TDs on the ground.

Defensive focus

While Jake Spavital goes into his second season as offensive coordinator, Aranda again will primarily focus on defense; he took the Baylor job after being the defensive coordinator for LSU’s national title in 2019.

The Bears ranked in the bottom half of the Big 12 last season in pretty much every defensive category. They allowed more than 30 points and 433 yards in conference games.

“I’m sure there is,” Aranda said when asked if there is pressure on the defense to take another step. “When you win, you want to feel like you contributed to the win. So I think that kind of sums up that side of the ball.”

Protecting up front

Baylor returns four starters on the offensive line, a group with a lot of quality depth after that.

“It’s the most depth of any team I’ve been a part of. … There’s dudes right behind them that are pushing them, trying to take that job,” Aranda said. “I think their aggressiveness and their ability to communicate are the two things that separate them.”

Power start

Baylor will open the season against a team from another power conference for the first time since going to Wake Forest in 2009. The Bears host Auburn in a Friday night opener Aug. 29, and a week later play at 16th-ranked team SMU, a playoff team last season in its first as an ACC member.

Two of Baylor’s first three Big 12 games are against defending champion No. 11 Arizona State and No. 17 Kansas State, though both are at home.

—-

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press