Analysis: 2023 Expectations for the Baylor Bears
It is officially game week for the Baylor Bears! In just five days, the team on the Brazos will take the field for the 125th year of its existence, and its 122nd official season. The program has seen its ups and downs over the last century and a quarter, and the last three seasons have embodied that perfectly. 2022 is considered a down year, mainly because of the 2021 conference championship team. So after a down year, we will begin the opening game week looking at the possible different directions this upcoming season can go.
The ceiling: Conference Championship, New Year’s Six Bowl
It is no surprise that the ceiling is the conference championship. The Bears are just two years removed from their most recent title, and with the experience coming back, they look poised to make a return to Arlington. It will be no easy task, as they still have to play TCU, Kansas State and Texas. On top of that, they travel to play UCF and Cincinnati in their first season in the Big 12 Conference, and those environments are going to be hostile. However as proven in 2021, once in Arlington, anything can happen.
The floor: 3-9 record
I don’t put much stock into the thought of Texas State and Long Island pulling off the upset against the Bears, nor West Virginia. Baylor should win at least three this season. And while not many are putting much stock into the four new schools, crazier things have happened. There is a slim but very real chance that the newcomers actually make a run for it. Baylor is already not favorably projected in the conference, and if one of those new teams runs the table, the Bears will be the first ones left behind.
Exceeding the expectations: 9-3 record, Cotton Bowl
A nice winning season would be a good step forward after a 6-7 2022 season. Assuming one of the losses of a 9-3 season would come non-conference against Utah, dropping only two conference games would be a nice way to start off the new era of the Big 12. What would be even sweeter, would be for one of those wins to be the final game against Texas. When this Baylor team gets fired up, there is not much they cannot do. Despite projections, 9-3 is not impossible.
Disappointment: 5-7 record, no bowl game
The expectations and projections for 2023 are middle-of-the-road, at best. With all of the noise, it is easy to feel that the Bears are headed for a similar result than what they are coming off of. What could be more disappointing than that? How about falling just one game shy of last year’s mark and missing bowl season completely. Sometimes just making a bowl game is the highlight of a season, and that one extra possible win gives a fanbase something to feel good about. Missing out on that, when the expectation is to get there would be the biggest disappointment, behind hitting the floor.