Baylor
Baylor is 6-3 and No. 29 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 10.9 points better than an average FBS team. Last game: won 42-31 vs Iowa State in Week 10. The machine gives Baylor a 3% chance to make the playoff.
Week 11: at BYU, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why Baylor is No. 29
- Baylor's rating is 10.9: the machine's estimate that Baylor is 10.9 points better than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 29 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at 6.5, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it up 4.4.
- The biggest weekly moves: +3.9 after Week 5 (W 55-19 at Arizona State) and +2.2 after Week 9 (W 41-9 at UCF).
- Its record is 6-3. The 3 losses were to No. 37 Auburn, No. 43 TCU, No. 46 Kansas, by 4.3 points on average. The 6 wins came by 24.5 points on average; the best was over No. 50 Iowa State. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 56 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 28 Duke (11.0); just below is No. 30 North Carolina (10.5).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Joe Klanderman is the interim head coach since Oct 25, after Dave Aranda was let go. The team is 6-3 this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 193-339 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 2487 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 20-7 |
| Yards per attempt* | 7.4No. 69 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 12.4%No. 30 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 5.1%No. 59 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 348-1414 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 4.1No. 85 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 9.9%No. 127 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 17.0%No. 66 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 31.9No. 45 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 5.75No. 83 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 39.6%No. 78 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 57.1%No. 93 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 11No. 60 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 17.0No. 18 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 4.79No. 19 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 6.3No. 27 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 3.1No. 17 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 10.1%No. 4 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 16No. 13 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 34.0%No. 34 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- D.J. Lagway145-270, 1900 yds, 15 TD, 4 INT
- Nate Bennett46-61, 568 yds, 5 TD, 2 INT
- Edward Griffin2-6, 19 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
- Caden Knighten81 carries, 360 yds, 3 TD
- Ryelan Morris54 carries, 345 yds, 3 TD
- Dawson Pendergrass94 carries, 339 yds, 2 TD
Receiving
- Gavin Freeman69 catches, 852 yds, 3 TD
- Louis Brown24 catches, 362 yds, 3 TD
- Jadon Porter15 catches, 279 yds, 2 TD
Tackles
- Travion Barnes62
- Micah Gifford51
- Kyland Reed35
Sacks
- Garrick Ponder4
- Bo Onu3.5
- Daniel Cobbs3.5
Interceptions
- Devon Jordan4
- Micah Gifford3
- Reggie Bush1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- D.J. LagwayMost passes in the last game7 games270 attempts80%
- Nate Bennett3 games61 attempts18%
Carrying
- Dawson Pendergrass8 games94 carries33%
- Caden Knighten9 games81 carries29%
- Ryelan Morris8 games54 carries19%
- Michael Turner8 games51 carries18%
Catching
- Gavin Freeman9 games69 catches36%
- Louis Brown8 games24 catches12%
- Jadon Porter7 games15 catches8%
- Tony Livingston8 games15 catches8%
Tackling
- Travion Barnes9 games62 tackles11%
- Micah Gifford9 games51 tackles9%
- Kyland Reed8 games35 tackles6%
- Devon Jordan8 games34 tackles6%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 L 16–17 vs Auburn (neutral site). The run game struggled: 2.3 yards a carry, 1.8 less than Auburn usually allows. The defense had 5 sacks.
- Week 2 W 44–3 vs Prairie View A&M. Prairie View A&M is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 3 W 36–19 vs Louisiana Tech. The passing game was the strength: 10.6 yards an attempt, 3.8 more than Louisiana Tech usually allows. The fewest yards an attempt it has allowed all season.
- Week 4 W 23–13 vs Colorado. The passing game struggled: 5.7 yards an attempt, 2.8 less than Colorado usually allows. The defense had 5 sacks.
- Week 5 W 55–19 at Arizona State. The run game was the strength: 6.8 yards a carry, 3.4 more than Arizona State usually allows. Won the turnover battle by 3.
- Week 7 L 6–17 vs TCU. The run game struggled: 1.6 yards a carry, 2.2 less than TCU usually allows. The machine had Baylor by 6.6 (67%), so this was a loss it did not see coming.
- Week 8 L 24–25 at Kansas. The run game struggled: 3.5 yards a carry, 1.3 less than Kansas usually allows. The machine had Baylor by 1.8 (54%), so this was a loss it did not see coming.
- Week 9 W 41–9 at UCF. The passing game was the strength: 12.8 yards an attempt, 5.4 more than UCF usually allows. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 10 W 42–31 vs Iowa State. No unit was far from the usual. The biggest gap was the run game: 5.5 yards a carry, 0.3 more than Iowa State usually allows. The most yards a carry it has allowed all season.