Preseason Poll Projections: Baylor Ranked No. 11
The Baylor Bears were crowned Big 12 and Sugar Bowl champions this past season, which is about as close as a team can get to making its claim for the College Football Playoff. And led by a coach like Dave Aranda, Baylor has proven itself as a team on the verge of having a chance at jumping into the final four teams remaining this upcoming season.
Baylor secured a 12-2 record last year. As a result, media outlets across the nation have increasingly high expectations for Aranda and Co. heading into next season.
247Sports revealed its preseason AP poll projections for the upcoming season Tuesday and has Baylor ranked at No. 11, just on the edge of elite territory. The Bears are joined by other Big 12 teams like No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 13 Oklahoma State, and No. 15 Texas.
Here's 247's analysis of Baylor's placement in the rankings projection:
Dave Aranda is ascending the coaching ranks at a rapid pace after winning the Big 12 last season at Baylor and establishing the Bears as a perennial threat among the dozen or so elites following a Sugar Bowl title. Doing it for a second time is always more difficult than the first and staying in contention shows program stability and poise. Aranda is one of the nation's best at getting the most out of his players and defensively, his Bears play with a mean streak at the line of scrimmage. That hard-nosed mentality makes Baylor the preseason favorite in the Big 12, however, national media will likely slot the Bears behind Oklahoma in the preseason top 25.
While the nation likely wouldn’t see it as impossible for Baylor to qualify for the playoff given the success the team had last season, the Bears’ qualification would be historical for a program that was just 2-7 in 2020. Sitting at No. 11 in any preseason rankings is a positive sign of what the team can achieve this fall.
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