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2023 Baylor Bears football team
The 2023 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University in the Big 12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bears were led by Dave Aranda in his fourth season as their head coach.
| 2023 Baylor Bears football |
|---|
| Big 12 Conference |
| 3–9 (2–7 Big 12) |
| Dave Aranda (4th season) |
| Jeff Grimes (3rd season) |
| Multiple |
| Matt Powledge (1st season) |
| 3–4 |
| McLane Stadium |
The 2023 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University in the Big 12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bears were led by Dave Aranda 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, Maxwell Award, Doak Walker Award and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award
- Gabe Hall, Bronko Nagurski Trophy
- Clark Barrington, Rimington Trophy
- Blake Shapen, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
- Alonzo Allen, Wuerffel Trophy
The Bears played their home games at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, its 9th year of hosting play. The Bears failed to qualify for a bowl game and suffered their first losing season since 2020 following their loss to Kansas State. The Baylor Bears football team drew an average home attendance of 43,388 in 2023.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2 | 6:00 p.m. | Texas State* | McLane StadiumWaco, TX | ESPN+ | L 31–42 | 44,945 |
| September 9 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 12 Utah* | McLane StadiumWaco, TX | ESPN | L 13–20 | 43,732 |
| September 16 | 11:00 a.m. | LIU* | McLane StadiumWaco, TX | ESPN+ | W 30–7 | 43,732 |
| September 23 | 6:30 p.m. | No. 3 Texas | McLane StadiumWaco, TX (rivalry) | ABC | L 6–38 | 49,165 |
| September 30 | 2:30 p.m. | at UCF | FBC Mortgage StadiumOrlando, FL | FS1 | W 36–35 | 44,005 |
| October 7 | 7:00 p.m. | Texas Tech | McLane StadiumWaco, TX (rivalry) | ESPN2 | L 14–39 | 44,620 |
| October 21 | 11:00 a.m. | at Cincinnati | Nippert StadiumCincinnati, OH | ESPN+ | W 32–29 | 38,193 |
| October 28 | 2:30 p.m. | Iowa State | McLane StadiumWaco, TX | ESPN+ | L 18–30 | 43,528 |
| November 4 | 2:30 p.m. | Houston | McLane StadiumWaco, TX (rivalry) | ESPN+ | L 24–25 OT | 41,180 |
| November 11 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 25 Kansas State | Bill Snyder Family Football StadiumManhattan, KS | ESPN+ | L 25–59 | 51,790 |
| November 18 | 2:30 p.m. | at TCU | Amon G. Carter StadiumFort Worth, TX (The Revivalry) | ESPN+ | L 17–42 | 42,621 |
| November 25 | 6:00 p.m. | West Virginia | McLane StadiumWaco, TX | FS1 | L 31–34 | 36,200 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 2) - Released prior to gameAll times are in Central time |
| Statistics | Texas State | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 20 | 22 |
| Plays–yards | 69–441 | 76–524 |
| Rushes–yards | 39–143 | 32–108 |
| Passing yards | 298 | 416 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 22–30–0 | 27–44–1 |
| Time of possession | 26:12 | 33:48 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | T. J. Finley | 22–30, 298 yards, 3 TD | |
| Rushing | Ismail Mahdi | 6 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Joey Hobert | 6 receptions, 105 yards, 1 TD | |
| Passing | Blake Shapen | 21–31, 303 yards, 2 TD | |
| Rushing | Dominic Richardson | 16 carries, 84 yards | |
| Receiving | Drake Dabney | 6 receptions, 101 yards, 2 TD |
| Statistics | Utah | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 20 | 14 |
| Plays–yards | 73–377 | 57–339 |
| Rushes–yards | 47–224 | 29–121 |
| Passing yards | 153 | 218 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 12–26–1 | 12–28–2 |
| Time of possession | 36:17 | 23:43 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Nate Johnson | 6–7, 82 yards | |
| Rushing | Ja'Quinden Jackson | 19 carries, 13 yards | |
| Receiving | Mikey Matthews | 4 receptions, 48 yards | |
| Passing | Sawyer Robertson | 12–28, 218 yards, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Dominic Richardson | 14 carries, 81 yards | |
| Receiving | Ketron Jackson, Jr. | 4 receptions, 72 yards |
| Statistics | LIU | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 10 | 26 |
| Plays–yards | 43–143 | 75–391 |
| Rushes–yards | 29–143 | 48–270 |
| Passing yards | 40 | 121 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 6–14–1 | 13–27–0 |
| Time of possession | 23:36 | 36:24 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Chris Howell | 4–10, 41 yards, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Jaden Dawkins | 1 carry, 42 yards | |
| Receiving | Aviyon Smith Mack | 1 reception, 35 yards | |
| Passing | Sawyer Robertson | 10–22, 113 yards, 1 TD | |
| Rushing | Dawson Pendergrass | 21 carries, 111 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Ketron Jackson, Jr. | 2 receptions, 29 yards |
| Statistics | Texas | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 24 | 19 |
| Plays–yards | 59–503 | 84–365 |
| Rushes–yards | 34–75 | 31–60 |
| Passing yards | 328 | 305 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 19–25–0 | 29-53-1 |
| Time of possession | 26:30 | 33:30 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Quinn Ewers | 18-23, 293 yards, 1 TD | |
| Rushing | Jonathon Brooks | 18 carries, 106 yards, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | Ja'Tavion Sanders | 5 receptions, 110 yards | |
| Passing | Sawyer Robertson | 20-35, 203 yards, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | RJ Martinez | 3 carries, 22 yards | |
| Receiving | Monaray Baldwin | 3 receptions, 81 yards |
| Statistics | Baylor | UCF |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 22 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 77–446 | 61–469 |
| Rushes–yards | 43–153 | 35–235 |
| Passing yards | 293 | 234 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 21–34–0 | 13-26-1 |
| Time of possession | 35:31 | 24:29 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Blake Shapen | 21-34, 293 yards, 1 TD | |
| Rushing | Richard Reese | 16 carries, 100 yards | |
| Receiving | Monaray Baldwin | 7 receptions, 150 yards, 1 TD | |
| Passing | Timmy McClain | 13-25, 234 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Johnny Richardson | 6 carries, 105 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Javon Baker | 3 receptions, 113 yards, 1 TD |
| Statistics | Texas Tech | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 19 | 17 |
| Plays–yards | 68–366 | 68–341 |
| Rushes–yards | 42–186 | 30–17 |
| Passing yards | 180 | 324 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 19–26–1 | 22–38–0 |
| Time of possession | 30:04 | 29:56 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Behren Morton | 19–26, 180 yards, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Tahj Brooks | 31 carries, 170 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Myles Price | 10 receptions, 90 yards | |
| Passing | Blake Shapen | 22–38, 324 yards, 1 TD | |
| Rushing | Dominic Richardson | 9 carries, 26 yards | |
| Receiving | Monaray Baldwin | 5 receptions, 126 yards |
| Statistics | Baylor | Cincinnati |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 22 | 21 |
| Plays–yards | 70–396 | 74–450 |
| Rushes–yards | 28–80 | 43–288 |
| Passing yards | 316 | 162 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 25–42–0 | 19-31-0 |
| Time of possession | 31:13 | 28:47 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Blake Shapen | 25-42, 316 yards, 1 TD | |
| Rushing | Dominic Richardson | 8 carries, 37 yards | |
| Receiving | Ketron Jackson, Jr. | 5 receptions, 130 yards | |
| Passing | Emory Jones | 19-30, 162 yards, 2 TD | |
| Rushing | Corey Kiner | 15 carries, 129 yards | |
| Receiving | Xzavier Henderson | 8 receptions, 82 yards, 2 TD |
| Statistics | Iowa State | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 19 | 17 |
| Plays–yards | 66–400 | 66–306 |
| Rushes–yards | 35–162 | 25–67 |
| Passing yards | 238 | 239 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 19–31–1 | 24–41–1 |
| Time of possession | 33:33 | 26:27 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Rocco Becht | 19–31, 238 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Eli Sanders | 14 carries, 90 yards | |
| Receiving | Jaylin Noel | 8 receptions, 76 yards | |
| Passing | Blake Shapen | 24–41, 239 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Dawson Pendergrass | 8 carries, 37 yards, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | Monaray Baldwin | 6 receptions, 117 yards, 1 TD |
| Statistics | Houston | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 21 | 22 |
| Plays–yards | 59–366 | 72–413 |
| Rushes–yards | 32–130 | 35–150 |
| Passing yards | 236 | 263 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 21–27–2 | 29–37–1 |
| Time of possession | 26:39 | 33:21 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Donovan Smith | 21–27, 236 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT | |
| Rushing | Donovan Smith | 20 carries, 66 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Samuel Brown | 9 receptions, 86 yards, 1 TD | |
| Passing | Blake Shapen | 29–37, 263 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Dominic Richardson | 11 carries, 51 yards | |
| Receiving | Drake Dabney | 4 receptions, 76 yards, 1 TD |
| Statistics | West Virginia | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 23 | 17 |
| Plays–yards | 59–519 | 62–334 |
| Rushes–yards | 37–250 | 37–119 |
| Passing yards | 269 | 215 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 16–25–0 | 17–20–0 |
| Time of possession | 28:55 | 31:05 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Garrett Greene | 16–25, 269 yards, 2 TD | |
| Rushing | Jahiem White | 17 carries, 133 yards | |
| Receiving | Hudson Clement | 4 receptions, 80 yards | |
| Passing | Sawyer Robertson | 17–19, 215 yards, 1 TD | |
| Rushing | Richard Reese | 6 carries, 42 yards | |
| Receiving | Ketron Jackson Jr. | 3 receptions, 88 yards, 1 TD |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | Column 4 | Column 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Baylor Bears Football | ||||
| Quarterback |
12 Blake Shapen – junior (6'0, 206) 13 Sawyer Robertson – sophomore (6'4, 220) 15 RJ Martinez - junior (5'11, 213) 17 Cade Tessier – freshman (6'3, 217) 18 Brayson McHenry – freshman (5'11, 198) Running back
21 Dominic Richardson – junior (6'1, 204) 23 Jordan Jenkins – sophomore (6'1, 217) 25 Jacoby Clarke – senior (5'10, 230) 29 Richard Reese – sophomore (5'9, 179) 30 Bryson Washington - freshman (6'0, 204) 35 Dawson Pendergrass - freshman (6'2, 212) Wide receiver
11 Ketron Jackson Jr – junior (6'3, 208) 14 Armani Winfield – freshman (6'2, 200) 16 Hal Presley – junior (6'2, 196) 17 Jonah Burton - sophomore (5'10, 197) 18 Jordan Nabors – sophomore (5'11, 189) 19 Javon Gipson – sophomore (6'3, 213) 24 Landry Kinne – junior (6'0, 187) 34 Josh Cameron – sophomore (6'1, 215) 80 Monaray Baldwin – junior (5'9, 168) 81 Jonathan Davidson – junior (6'1, 208) 84 Cameron Bonner – sophomore (5'11, 186) 88 Micah Gifford - freshman (6'3, 203) Tight end
43 Gavin Yates - junior (6'3, 230) 44 Mark Patton - junior (6'4, 253) 45 Hawkins Polley - freshman (6'3, 250) 49 Jonathan Steinhauer - freshman (6'6, 242) 82 Cody Mladenka - freshman (6'4, 242) 85 Matthew Klopfenstein - freshman (6'4, 246) 86 Jake Roberts - junior (6'5, 248) 87 Kelsey Johnson - sophomore (6'2, 248) 89 Drake Dabney - senior (6'5, 248) Placekicker
96 Bryce Boland – junior (5'11, 172) 97 Hayden Arnold - freshman (5'8, 180) 98 Isaiah Hankins – sophomore (6'0, 192) 99 Jack Stone – sophomore (5'11, 197) Punter
94 Palmer Williams – freshman (6'2, 183) | | Offensive line
50 Connor Heffernan – sophomore (6'3, 294) 53 Campbell Barrington - junior (6'6, 299) 54 Timothy Dawn – freshman (6'2, 306) 56 Clark Barrington - 5th year senior (6'5, 306) 57 Wes Tucker – freshman (6'5, 294) 58 Gavin Byers – senior (6'5, 318) 61 Cayden Tone - freshman (6'4, 272) 62 Ryan Lengyel – sophomore (6'5, 305) 65 Sean Thompkins – freshman (6'5, 290) 70 Bryce Simpson – freshman (6'5, 286) 71 MJ Ruhman – sophomore (6'4, 291) 72 Coleton Price – freshman (6'2, 305) 73 George Maile – freshman (6'3, 305) 74 Kaden Sieracki – freshman (6'8, 318) 75 Elijah Ellis – senior (6'6, 307) 76 Isaiah Robinson – freshman (6'6, 299) 77 Tate Williams – sophomore (6'4, 301) 79 Alvin Ebosele – freshman (6'6, 304) Defensive line
9 TJ Franklin – 5th year senior (6'5, 269) 35 Jackie Marshall - sophomore (6'3, 265) 48 Treven Ma'ae - junior (6'5, 296) 50 Kaian Roberts-Day - freshman (6'3, 274) 54 David Marshall Jr – sophomore (6'0, 278) 57 Prince Ugoh – sophomore (6'1, 227) 59 Devonte Tezino – freshman (6'5, 286) 90 Brendan Bett – freshman (6'5, 290) 91 Trey Wilson - freshman (6'3, 259) 92 Trent Thomas - freshman (6'3, 237) 93 DK Kalu - freshman (6'4, 270) 94 BoChao Jin – junior (6'0, 277) 95 Gabe Hall – senior (6'6, 292) 96 Justin Sambu – 5th year senior (6'4, 284) 97 Cooper Lanz – sophomore (6'3, 273) 98 Jerrell Boykins Jr – sophomore (6'4, 330) 99 Tre Emory – freshman (6'2, 308) Long snapper
26 Garrison Grimes – sophomore (6'2, 216) 93 Dylan Schaub – freshman (6'5, 226) | | Linebacker
2 Matt Jones – senior (6'3, 251) 32 Carmello Jones – freshman (6'1, 225) 36 Tyrone M. Brown – sophomore (5'11, 233) 40 Mike Smith Jr - 5th year senior (6'1, 231) 41 Brooks Miller – junior (6'1, 229) 42 Jeremy Evans – freshman (6'1, 216) 44 Josh White – junior (6'0, 215) 49 Trey Laurence – freshman (6'0, 209) 56 Braden Strauss – junior (5'11, 215) 58 Jaden Maronen – sophomore (5'10, 220) Outside linebacker
45 Byron Vaughns – 5th year senior (6'4, 242) 46 Tony Anyanwu – junior (6'2, 243) 51 Kyler Jordan – freshman (6'1, 235) 52 Corey Kelly - freshman (6'3, 218) 55 Garmon Randolph – senior (6'7, 250) Cornerback
13 Isaiah Dunson – sophomore (6'1, 186) 15 Carl Williams IV - freshman (6'1, 180) 19 Caden Jenkins - freshman (6'1, 173) 21 Chateau Reed – junior (6'2, 190) 22 Reggie Bush – freshman (6'0, 191) 25 LeVar Thornton Jr - freshman (6'3, 175) 27 Tevin Williams III – sophomore (6'0, 188) 34 MJ Artmore Jr - freshman (6'0, 191) 37 Tay'Shawn Wilson - freshman (5'9, 178) Safety
7 Bryson Jackson – 7th year senior (6'2, 209) 12 Alfonzo Allen – sophomore (5'11, 194) 20 Devin Lemear – sophomore (5'11, 187) 24 Corey Gordon Jr. – freshman (6'2, 191) 28 Devin Bobby – sophomore (5'10, 186) 29 Romario Noel – sophomore (6'3, 210) 30 Michael Allen – freshman (5'7, 183) 33 DJ Coleman – freshman (6'0, 194) 38 Jacob Redding - freshman (6'0, 187) 39 Michael Mastrodicasa – sophomore (6'0, 196) 47 Caleb Parker – junior (5'11, 205) |
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